


Crossroads

by Nijura



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bets & Wagers, Blood and Gore, Demon Tony Stark, Eventual Smut, F/M, M/M, Monsters, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Teen Romance, hunter Peter Parker, mysterious villain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2020-07-07 21:08:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19858045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nijura/pseuds/Nijura
Summary: Peter was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the car approaching him, he also didn’t see the lights of it and was only pulled out of the darkness of his mind when someone honked behind him.He jumped, tripped over his legs and fell on the hard ground, effectively scratching his hands open. He cursed and hissed at the pain in his hands.The car stopped and a man walked up to Peter, “sorry kid I didn’t want that to happen but I barely noticed you, hell I could have ran you over.”Peter meets a mysterious man in the middle of the night and he offers him to choose his path, his choice of course has a price, but what will the boy have to pay in return?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So I am doing it again I am starting too many works at the same time and have to work on all of them.  
> Well....I never said I was sane.  
> This fic is influenced by Supernatural and Good Omens, to those of you who haven't seen these shows yet I really recommend them.  
> The Prologue is rather short I know but I still hope I can win you over with it.

Peter’s steps sounded loudly on the wet asphalt.

He was alone on an empty street in the middle of the night, a night so dark and cold no one should be out there alone.

Mist was hanging over the fields and the moon only occasionally peeked through the clouds. The moon was full and gleaming but the clouds were thick and heavy with water.

The ground was still wet from the last pour of rain but luckily it had stopped before Peter left his home, or what he was forced to call home.

The streets weren’t lit since it was the countryside and it was only because Peter had lived there so long that he knew this way by heart.

Peter was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the car approaching him, he also didn’t see the lights of it and was only pulled out of the darkness of his mind when someone honked behind him.

He jumped, tripped over his legs and fell on the hard ground, effectively scratching his hands open. He cursed and hissed at the pain in his hands.

The car stopped and walked up to Peter, “sorry kid I didn’t want that to happen but I barely noticed you, hell I could have ran you over.”

Peter got up and looked at the man, he was probably in his late thirties and had neatly groomed facial hair and was dressed in an expensive looking suit. In the light of the car he couldn’t see his eyes properly but it was not like it mattered anyway.

Peter sighed, “it is alright I shouldn’t be out here at night anyway.” The man nodded, “yes…should I give you a lift?”

The boy looked at the stranger and shrugged. He could be a lunatic, the man could kill him or worse but honestly Peter couldn’t find it in him to care.

“Sure I guess, do you have a name?”

The man smiled and held out his hand, “Tony and you?”

Peter grabbed his hand in a firm grip before wincing, “Peter, ouch.” Tony laughed, “get in the car I have an first aid kit.” With a nod Peter followed him and got into the large black car.

He sat down in the expensive leather seat and put his seatbelt on while Tone got the kit from the backseat.

“Do I need to fix you or can you do it yourself?”

Peter took the kit and placed it on his lap, “I will be fine, thank you.” Tony nodded and got behind the wheel. They drove for a long time through the darkness and Peter cleaned his wounds as well as possible before he put some bandages around his hands.

The wounds were bigger than he thought they were.

Tony remained silent, his eyes on the road and Peter was busy and not in the mood to talk anyway. After maybe an hour of just driving straight Tony stopped on a stop sign.

No one was on the road so Peter wondered why, as well as where they were since he didn’t recall that there was a stop sign anywhere on this road.

“Why are you waiting?”

Tony looked at Peter, “this is a crossroad, Peter where do you want to go?” Peter frowned, a crossroad, there wasn’t one anywhere near where he lived.

“A crossroad? What are you talking about?”

He looked outside and indeed there it was, four streets, joining in the middle, a stop sign on each corner. Peter huffed a bit.

“Now where do you want to go Peter, what do you want? What do you desire?”

Peter turned to look at the man only to find Tony stare intensely at him, his eyes still hidden in the shadows but Peter knew they were fixed on him.

“What do you want, Peter Parker?”

Peter swallowed, “how do you know my name?” Tony smirked and shrugged, “I know things, now, tell me and make a choice.”

Peter looked at the man in confusion, Tony was a weird guy, but he didn’t feel threatened by him. Which was also weird.

“What are my options?”

Tony snorted, “well as I see it you have four of them.” He pointed at the road, “go forward, turn right, left or go back. What do you want to do?”

Peter sighed, “isn’t there a fifth option?” Tony raised an eyebrow, “what option would that be?” The boy shrugged, “stay.” Tony laughed, “no, this is not an option, life is always moving, a human cannot remain.”

Peter looked at him, again confused.

“Well there would be two more options, you could go up,” he pointed at the dark sky, “or down,” he pointed at the middle of the road.

Peter knitted his eyebrows together, “but believe me you want neither of that, because up there it is boring as heavens and down below, well I do think you don’t belong there.”

The boy sighed, “I do have to make a decision, right?” Tony nodded, “indeed.” Peter looked at his hands, “I could just get out of the car.”

The man appeared absolutely relaxed, “you could but I do not recommend it.” There was no threat in his words no real emotion and Peter knew he wouldn’t stop him if he tried, he wanted him to make a decision and any decision was fine with him.

“What will happen if I choose a path?”

The man looked at him, “you will have to walk it and you will have to face the consequences. Peter think about it, you can now choose three new ways for yourself. Tell me what you desire and I will make it happen.”

The boy looked at him, “what is the price?” The other man smiled, “smart boy, the price is simple, your life will belong to you, but once you are gone from this world I get to choose.”

Peter let out a breath, thinking, what does he want? He wanted to not be in pain anymore, he wanted peace; he wanted a family, to be wanted and missed.

He closed his eyes, “I want to live Tony.” He looked at the man, “I want the life I was supposed to have.” There were tears in his eyes as he said that and the other man nodded.

“Anything else?”

Peter shrugged, “I don’t know, can you fix my hands?” Tony laughed, it was a nice laugh, easy and it made the boy feel warm inside.

Tony turned to him and took his hands, he winked at Peter and turned around again, letting him go.

“Well, right it is,” he announced and he took the wheel turning the corner. Peter wasn’t sure if he understood completely what he had done but, right now he was just glad to leave everything behind.


	2. Sing for the lost, for eternal affairs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course the first chapter is always the quickest to post ^^  
> I hope you will enjoy it. 
> 
> Meet some more of the cast.

Peter yawned as he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. His mother Mary smiled at him, “long night?”

He grimaced, “Ned insisted he was better at chess so we kept playing until I was too tired and let him win.” His mother snorted and sipped her coffee.

Peter sat down in the chair just as his father put a plate of eggs in front of him.

“As much as I am impressed with your brain son you shouldn’t be awake this long on a school night.”

Peter took a piece of toast and nodded, “I totally agree with that.” Both of his parents smirked and they kissed before his mother stood.

“I need to go, don’t forget the appointment Richard, darling.”

Her husband gave her a smile, “never would love, now go shoo.” She laughed and took her purse, before kissing Peter’s head and the cheek of her two-year-old daughter before leaving for work.

Peter smiled and finished his breakfast, “I will be back in time for the appointment I promise.” His father looked at him, picking up the toy his daughter just threw on the ground, “you better be else I will have to come to your school and get you and you know what that means.”

Peter shivered, “don’t say it please.”

His father grinned, “embarrassing dad mode activated.” Peter hissed at him and wolfed down his breakfast before running upstairs to get ready for school. He threw his backpack over his shoulder and ran downstairs again taking the lunch his father had prepared before saying goodbye to him and his little sister and running outside.

He greeted his neighbour before walking the few meters to the bus stop. Liz was already waiting there, reading a book. Peter smiled at her, “morning Liz, how are you.”

The girl put her book down and smiled at him, “hi Peter, I am good and you?” Peter smiled, “good I mean of course I am good it is Friday.”

She chuckled and nodded.

They were friends for so long now that it felt like they had always known each other. They weren’t exactly neighbours but they lived on the same street in the suburbs and even though both their parents could drive them to school each day they decided to take the bus.

They had an easy chat while they waited and then got on the bus. As usual, Liz sat next to one of her friends and started to chat with her immediately. Peter didn’t mind and moved to an empty seat, close to her.

He put his earphones in and looked out of the window moving a bit to the beat of the music.

At the second stop after his a bunch of students got on the bus but to his surprise none of them took the free seat next to him. Instead, a man got on the bus, which was rather unusual, and forbidden since the bus was only for kids.

The man walked down the aisle and no one seemed to notice him even as he sat down next to Peter. The boy sighed internally and pulled his earphones out.

“Good morning Peter.”

“Good morning Tony.”

The man looked around for a while before looking at the boy next to him, “how is it going? Everything alright? Everything as planned?”

Peter looked at Tony; the man wore an expensive black suit and a pair of sunglasses that completely hid his eyes. No one except Peter could see or hear him if he wanted to and luckily he was nice enough to make it that no one heard Peter either, when they talked.

He really didn’t need anyone to think he was some weird loser.

“I am still tracking him down, don’t worry I will find him.”

Tony hummed, “you better. Red Skull is dangerous and he is a danger to everyone.” Peter knew he let his eyes trail over the girls that sat in the seat not far from them.

The boy sighed and leaned back in the seat, “you lied you know.” Tony spun around and looked at the boy scandalized, “pardon me?” Peter looked at the man, “you lied. You said I would like working for you but I don’t, in fact I hate it.” 

Tony stared at him for a moment before pushing his glasses up and giving the boy an intense stare. Peter had worked hard not to shiver under his yellow-eyed gaze. 

“I never lie Peter; I don’t have human needs like you.”

He leaned closer to Peter and smiled, “the only one lying is you, you cannot accept the fact that you love what I ask of you.” Peter let out a breath, “it is not like I have a choice.”

Tony chuckled, “oh Peter there is always a choice, you just don’t like the consequences your choice would have.” He stood, “humans always argue with me that I don’t let them choose but that is not true, you know that the best. I never force you to do anything; it was always your doing that got you into these situations.”

Peter looked at the man, his employer and sighed, “well this one time you forced me to make a choice. So ha?” Tony laughed and held on to a seat, “yes ha, I made your life better, didn’t I? So do you really regret it?”

He didn’t wait for an answer he already knew. The bus stopped and he got out of it just as Ned got on and took the empty seat next to Peter.

Peter blinked and smiled at his best friend, “hey Ned.” The rather chubby boy grinned at him with his usual excitement.

“Hey Peter I need to show you this!”

The change of pace and topic was nice and welcome to Peter, so he chatted with Ned throughout the entire ride about his new Lego set and once they got off the bus, he concentrated on school.

The lessons were rather boring to Peter so he spend his time doodling on his notebook and thinking of new gadgets he could need and have Tony made for him. Tony had kept his promise to keep Peter safe and did all he could to give the teen the much needed tools to do his job properly.

His mind was with his next target, Red Skull, a man so vile that even hell couldn’t keep him and thinking about what he did in his former life, made Peter shudder.

The bell rang and he picked up his backpack, stuffing his books inside before he hurried out of school. He had quit most of his after school activities to work for Tony.

The job was disguised as an internship at Stark Industries, a large company that was in the tech field. It did a bit of everything, medical technology, military and even energy tech.

In almost every normal, everyday product was something that was either invented or manufactured by SI. It was almost scary.

Peter’s classmate MJ had a few rather interesting conspiracy theories about that. They were pretty close to the truth too but of course, everyone either thought she was crazy or jealous.

Peter didn’t judge her.

He hurried to the black car that was already waiting for him and jumped in the back. There were already an envelope, a bottle of soda and a pizza waiting for him.

Peter smiled at that and pulled the papers out of the envelope before taking a slice of pizza. The car started to move and Happy, the driver took him away from the school.

They usually didn’t talk and so they remained quiet as Peter studied the papers and ate. They contained information about Red Skull’s latest victim and Peter narrowed his eyes at the horrible maimed woman that had been found in a dirty alley.

Peter worked for Stark since three years now and the cases he got slowly became much more violent and scarier so he wasn’t surprised by the picture and just kept eating.

When the car stopped, Peter got out and he walked into the alley without looking at the police that stood around the crime scene. He wore his SI badge and no one would question why a kid was looking at an official crime scene, besides none of them would remember his face after he left anyway.

Peter walked up to the blood covered ground and looked around. This was messy, Red Skull normally didn’t leave so much blood behind and he was not even sure if the victim was already dead when he left.

The boy exhaled and looked at the puddle of blood. He spotted a tiny piece of a footprint at the edge of it and pulled out a scanner from his pocket.

“Karen?”

The AI that, thanks to Tony, lived in almost every of his devices replied instantly, “yes Peter, what can I do for you?” He scanned the scene, “tell me everything you see here.”

The AI rattled down a few useless things about the dirt and measurements of the alley, which Peter skipped until she said something interesting.

“I also detect three different kind of footprints.”

Peter smiled, “three? Give me the details.”

“Of course Peter, two female and one male print.”

She rattled down the size and shoe specifications but Peter barely listened. He held out the scanner that projected an image into the alley.

He saw the humans and their prints though they only looked like mannequins since Karen didn’t know their faces and detailed body specifications.

Peter looked at the prints in confusion. Red Skull apparently had a hold on the victim, which wasn’t confusing but the other set of footprints, started from the sidewalk and came into the alley before they turned and went out again.

The size of the steps and the fact that the attacker followed indicated that the other woman was chased.

“Maybe she wanted to help and it backfired,” Peter mumbled. He sighed and shook his head before he turned and got into the car again.

“To the morgue I want to see the body.”

Happy didn’t reply but the car began moving again and Peter took a sip from his soda before glancing at his watch, he had another two hours before he had to be home.

He pulled out the stark pad that he always had with him out of his backpack, “Karen scan the police and hospital files if any females claimed to be attacked last night filed a report.”

The AI replied immediately, “should I use a certain radius or the whole city?” Peter looked at the map, “select the stations and hospitals in a ten kilometre radius.”

“Of course Peter, there would be 2,468 reports.”

Peter sighed, “alright filter for women who have the same shoe size, or approximately the same size.” The AI scanned again and replied, “there would be 863 reports.”

Peter chewed on his lip, “filter for women who work close to the crime scene and would walk past that alley from or to work.”

“204 reports.”

Peter groaned, “what? Seriously how crime ridden is this stupid city?”

“The city of New York is ranked,” Karen began but Peter cut her off.

“This was a rhetorical question Karen, no need to answer, I know the statistics. Alright can you find out if any of the women have a connection to the victim or I don’t know, know self-defence and would be crazy enough to help in a situation like this?”

He put the pad away and got out of the car as Happy stopped.

Like always, he used the backdoor into the morgue and greeted the man that always seemed to be at work with a nod. Strange was well strange. As far as Peter knew, he was once a really good surgeon until an accident had ruined his hands.

Now he worked in the morgue and Peter guessed, for SI.

“Hello Peter,” the man said in his usual annoyed tone, which Peter ignored.

“Hey Doc is the latest victim here?”

The doctor always looked offended by his questions and this wasn’t an exception, “of course, I already took care of the paperwork.”

Peter nodded and followed Strange to a table that had a body on it. He pulled back the cover and the dead eyes of the woman stared at Peter. The boy shivered, “did you find something already?”

Strange shrugged, “she died of blood loss, has a few fight wounds and a tattoo of a cookie on her left butt cheek.” Peter really didn’t know why he threw in that detail but he would under no circumstances ask.

“Alright something new on this one? He got interrupted and she bled out on the ground, maybe he left something.”

Strange looked at the woman, “I didn’t find anything yet, she is mostly uninjured and in good health, apart from the fact that she is dead of course.”

Peter almost scoffed, “of course.” He looked at the wounds on her neck and frowned, “can I have some tweezers please?” Strange went stiff but handed him the tool.

He hated when Peter found something, or pointed something out that he had missed.

Peter pulled out a small white tooth from the woman’s neck and dropped it into the container the other man held out for him. Strange eyed the tooth, “you said he was interrupted, I think he was spooked.”

Peter put the tweezers down and nodded, “yes this doesn’t seem normal at all.” Strange looked at him, “I will check the neck again and that tooth, I will call you when I find something.”

Peter nodded and washed his hands before leaving.

“Home Happy.”

He pulled out his pad and scrolled through the remaining ten woman Karen had sorted out for him. He sighed and dropped the pad on the empty seat next to him.

“Ah fuck it.”

Peter thanked Happy as he was dropped off at home and went inside and into the kitchen. His father was ready to go and Peter smiled at him, “I am here, now you are free to leave.”

His father snorted, “as if.” He ruffled his hair and kissed his daughter goodbye as he left for his appointment. Peter sighed and looked at his sister.

“Alright Teresa I am in charge now.”

The toddler smiled and threw her toy at him, which he caught and with a chuckle picked her up and carried her into the living room.

He put her down on the fluffy rug and took out his homework so he could work while she played. The house was quiet and Peter found himself staring at the page of his English textbook he was supposed to read.

His mind was racing and all his senses were on high alert. Something wasn’t right, something was absolutely not right. He stood and walked to the front door, opening it.

A woman, tall with brown hair and a dirty coat stood in front of him. She looked at him with wide and frightened eyes. Peter looked at her and almost threw the door shut again.

“Who are you?” He may be rude but a lot about this situation was off. The woman swallowed and held the front of her coat as she shivered terribly.

“Y-You are Peter Parker right?”

Peter didn’t reply, Tony had taught him early on that it was dangerous to confirm or say one’s name out loud. People could use that against you.

“What do you want?” He should feel bad about the way he treated that woman but he couldn’t, the sense of dread in the back of his head just wouldn’t leave and he didn’t have his gear.

“I-I am Penny, I was attacked and…” she began to sob and Peter understood. He cussed and spun around, running to the living room but it was too late.

A man, strong build, clad in leather stood there, holding little Teresa and cooing at her. Peter froze on the spot, “let her go, monster.”

Red Skull turned his face and smirked at him. The unnatural red skin stretched over his high cheekbones and gave him a grotesque look.

“But she likes me boy. Don’t you little blood bag?”

Teresa looked at him with wide eyes but didn’t cry, Peter was glad for that.

“Let her go you want me, leave her out of this.” Peter was sounding really desperate in hopes it would gain him something but of course it didn’t.

Red Skull laughed, “how cute, kill him.” Peter gasped as he was grabbed from behind and an arm went around his neck, pulling him into the hallway. A knife came out of nowhere but thanks to his sharp senses, he was able grab the woman’s wrist before she could stab him into the stomach.

Peter grunted and managed to throw the woman over his shoulder and onto the floor. He needed to get his sister to safety and he needed to do it quick.

He ran towards Red Skull who had his back to him and kicked his leg. The man fell and it was easy to snatch the toddler from his hands and make a run for it.

“Get him you useless woman!”

Peter stopped as the woman stood in front of him. She had a crazed look on her face and now two knifes in her hands. He swallowed and thought of a way to get around her, the knife she attacked him with looked sharp and dangerous while the other would most likely kill him because it was so dirty.

“You are done for Peter, not even that demon can safe you now.”

Peter glanced over his shoulder as Red Skull moved towards him, “just so you know, I don’t need to be saved.” He jumped and Teresa squealed in delight as he stuck to the ceiling, evading that crazy woman’s attacks and dropped behind her to run to his room.

He put his sister down and locked the door, grabbing a bag full of gear out from a hideout in his sisters room and jumping off the balcony.

He landed in the garden and looked around as a strong fist hit him in the face.

With a grunt he was thrown backwards and he stumbled as he fell over a chair.

“Worthless mortal, I will suck you dry and throw your body at Tony’s feet!”

Peter chuckled to get over the pain, “you should choose your words better, I am a minor after all.” His attacker growled and jumped at him.

Peter rolled out of the way and his opponent hit the ground so hard that the stone plates of the patio shattered from the impact. Peter would have been impressed if his life hadn’t been on the line.

He grabbed his back and pulled one of his gadgets out, his very own web shooters. With trained ease he put them on his wrists and shot two webs at the man’s feet, sticking him to the ground.

Red Skull yelled at him and Peter webbed him up further until he fell to the ground, unable to move. The boy let out a sigh and pulled out his phone, “Karen?”

“Yes Peter?”

He stood and put his bag on the garden table, “call Tony and the clean-up crew, Skull is here and I need him gone.” He swallowed and put his phone down to pull something else out of his bag.

He didn’t look as the woman attacked him from behind, he just webbed her so she was falling down too. With a sigh Peter pulled out a syringe with a red liquid inside and turned to Red Skull.

“Time for a nap, big guy.”

The creature hissed and for the first time Peter saw his sharp teeth. A shiver went down his spine as he imagined those teeth piercing his skin to drink his blood.

“It is over tick, Tony and his guys are on their way and will lock you up for good this time.”

The vampire snarled and hissed at him, “you are making a mistake boy, I will get out and then I will eat your entire family, but I will let you live so you can mourn them and your failure all your life.”

Peter sighed and crouched next to him, “Tony wasn’t lying when he said that you vampires are a dramatic lot.” He shook his head and pushed the needle into the back of his neck, uncaring of the man’s discomfort, and pushed the liquid inside.

The effect was almost immediate and as soon as Red Skull stopped moving, the woman did too. Peter felt a tad sorry for her but then he remembered that she had attacked him with a knife.

With a sigh he sat down on an empty chair and looked up into the dark sky, finally, finally his danger sense was shut off and he could relax a bit.

“How did he know who I am?” he asked himself out loud and a chuckle let him flinch. His head snapped around and he stared at Tony who casually walked up to him.

“Because you are good. You are getting a reputation, Peter Parker, hunter. Sounds good doesn’t it?”

Peter glared at the man, “no, it sounds dangerous.” Tony laughed and pushed his sunglasses up. A few of his men walked up and picked up the unconscious man and woman, carrying them away before they repaired everything that had been broken.

“Well you did it again Parker, you saved the day, you should be proud of yourself.”

Peter scoffed and stood, “he almost harmed my sister, she could have died.” As if on cue a redheaded woman walked up to them, putting Teresa in Peter’s lap who quickly hugged and kissed her.

She gave Tony a look, “she is clean, not infected.” Tony nodded and looked at Peter who looked worried and suspicious.

“What does she mean, infected?”

His employer waved his hand, “how do you think vampires are made? It is a virus transmitted through blood but your sister is fine. Would be so bad to be a never aging vampire toddler.”

Peter gaped at the man, “I…don’t know what to say.” Tony smirked, “then don’t say anything, we will see each other Peter, oh and good job.”

Peter let out a breath and shook his head looking at his sister.

An hour later he put her to bed and made some dinner for himself. His parents had met up with one another and went out to their date night and so he had the house all to himself.

He sunk into the comfortable couch and turned on the TV, while eating and texting Ned. He wasn’t exactly happy about what had happened but he was glad that it was over and Teresa was safe.

Everything was done and Peter finally had closed the case when Karen chimed up, “Peter.” He sighed, “yes Karen?” The AI sounded surprisingly cautious, “the woman’s shoe size doesn’t fit the one we found in the alley.”

To be continued.


	3. Warn with a call that the battle starts now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And once more, meet more of the cast  
> Tony has a nice chat with a certain someone and Peter gets to be a teen

Peter groaned as he was thrown to the floor by Happy. The mats on the floor caught most of the impact but it still knocked the air out of him.

The man stayed stoically quiet but grabbed his arm to help him get off the floor. Tony snickered from the side-line.

Peter gave him a glare, “what? If you think you can do better get into the ring and fight.” Tony waved his hand and smiled at him, inside his own home was the only place where he wasn’t wearing the sunglasses.

“No thank you, I am a few thousand years old I earned my place out here. Besides you wouldn’t beat me anyway underoos.”

Peter huffed and took off the bandages around his knuckles and got out of the ring. Happy let out a sound of protest but didn’t physically stop him.

Tony smirked and watched with interest. Peter had been in a mood for the last few days and it wasn’t getting better. The fact that Red Skull, a highly dangerous vampire had found his home attacked him there and nearly harmed his little sister didn’t sit too well with him.

The worst part was that Tony seemed to be absolutely cool with that. The demon, because Tony was one in more than one way, watched him pack his stuff into his bag and swing it over his shoulder.

“Where do you think you are going?”

Peter glared at him, “home, I am sick of this and sick of you, so good day!” His tone was rather sharp and if Tony didn’t in fact like that kid very much he would have probably killed him for that insolence.

“Peter, you need to train so please come back here and get your ass beaten by Happy.”

Peter let out a growl and threw his bag at Tony. The man in the expensive suit just stepped aside before taking a step back as the boy jumped him.

Peter was angry and Tony would let him vent, he would let him get rid of all the unused energy until he was able to think clear again. The boy was well trained in a few fighting styles and he surely needed that since he was in charge in finding and sometimes killing creatures that where beyond the human’s imagination.

Tony really liked to watch him, the high jumps, the smooth movements, the strong hits, but it was all child’s play compared what he could do.

He had his hands in his pockets as he evaded every attack easily and chuckled as Peter’s face grew redder and redder. It was so funny to watch.

Finally Tony had enough and his left hand moved out of his pocket to block one of Peter’s punches. The face of the boy changed from furious to disbelieve very quickly and it was hilarious.

Tony quickly grabbed his wrist and flung the boy around so his back was to Tony’s chest and his arm twisted behind his back. With a satisfied smirk Tony put his right arm loosely around his middle pinning the boy to himself.

“Now Peter I thought we came to an understanding a long time ago. You got the life you wanted while I got your services. How I use them is up to me, solemnly up to me and since I am a kind and quite generous demon I choose to make you hunt all those who escape from hell to torment the humans.”

He put his chin on the boy’s shoulder and Peter let out a grunt as his grip on his arm tightened slightly.

“Frankly I gave you more than I asked of you Peter so don’t go around and disrespect me, I own you in a way and you don’t want me to change the deal. You just don’t.”

Peter scoffed, “I am not the lost boy that you picked up three years ago Tony, not anymore.” The demon nodded, “true but I can take you back to that; I can still turn the car around Peter. We can still go back.”

The boy tensed up again, like back then, turning back wasn’t an option. He let out a breath and Tony let go of his arm the instant he relaxed into his grip.

Still he had him pulled up to his chest, “that’s a good boy, now remember. I like you Peter, you are…not like a son to me because that would be weird considering I lust after you but you are important to me.”

Peter swallowed audibly.

“You are a great kid; smart, compassionate and so cute so don’t make me regret the choices _I_ made.”

Peter nodded wordlessly and Tony smiled. He let his hand linger a little longer on Peter’s chest than maybe necessary but when he let go he stepped away and pushed his hands back into his pockets.

“Happy will take you home; I am giving you three days off to cool down. Expect my call on Monday.”

With that the demon strolled away.

Peter did cool down in the end.

He had dinner with his parents, which was a rare thing ever since his mother got promoted and was now even more important to the CIA than before and his father decided to work from home so he could care for their daughter.

In between them being at work, him being at either school or work it was hard to find time that they could spend together.

Peter smiled the entire time they were eating and sharing stories about work, though his mother kept the important details to herself, school and housekeeping.

Never would Peter give back this life, not since he remembered where he had come from. He still remembered the despair and pain when he got the message that his parents had died. He still remembered how lost he had been when his uncle Ben had been killed.

He couldn’t do that again, never.

Now he had his parents, his aunt still had her husband and he had a little sister and an almost perfect life. Of course it came with a price but Peter had to agree with Tony. The demon had given him so much more than he asked in for return.

He should be grateful.

Smiling at his sister as he fed her some mashed potatoes he came to the conclusion that he owed the man an apology. Also he would ask for a new security system for his home since he clearly needed one to keep his family safe.

After feeding Teresa the last spoon he got up and petted her head, “good girl, now I need to go.” His mother smiled at him, “stay safe Peter, don’t get into a fight.”

Peter snorted, “how would I ever get into a fight?” His father chuckled and slid him a few dollar bills over the table, “here treat your girlfriend.”

Peter blushed, “dad she is not my girlfriend! And I earn my own money.” He pushed the bills back. His parents shared a look and grinned at each other.

“Son come on Liz is almost your girlfriend and she is cute, you should seal the deal. Kiss her.”

Peter stared at his father, “nope, no I am not having this conversation with you. With either of you.” He shook his head and turned around to leave.

His parents laughed and began to chant, “kiss her, kiss her, kiss her!”

Peter grabbed his wallet and put on his shoes before he fled the house. With a sigh he walked up to Liz’s house and waved at her through the window. She waved back and a minute later she and her dad walked out the front door.

“Hey Peter.”

“Hey Liz, hello Mr Toomes.”

The older man smiled at Peter, “hey Pete how are you?” Peter smiled at the man. He didn’t particularly like Liz’s dad but he tried to be as polite as possible, but quite frankly the man scared him.

Something about him was unsettling and Peter always shivered a bit when he saw him, but after all these years he knew her he could never pinpoint why or what it was.

“I am good Mr Toomes,” Peter replied politely as they got into the car. The man nodded and took the wheel to drive them into the city and to a cinema.

The man was quiet as usual and dropped them off without saying much else and Peter was glad for that. Ned was already waiting and waving at them.

The three friends went inside and bought their tickets before sitting down in their seats.

Peter did think about what his father had said, he and Liz knew each other for so long now he should ask her to be his girlfriend but then again it could also endanger her.

With a sigh, he rubbed his eyes as the theatre went dark.

The movie was good and they all talked eagerly as they headed out to grab a bite before they would be picked up again. Peter smiled and laughed with them and for the first time since what felt forever, he felt like a normal teen.

He looked at Liz and to his surprise; the girl blushed and slid closer to him on the bench they were sitting on. She slowly put her hand on his and he felt his face turn bright red as he kept talking with Ned about the villain in the movie.

His friend probably knew what was up and grinned dumbly at him. Peter just tried to keep talking but he kept stumbling over his words and at some point, he noticed that he kept repeating himself.

Liz chuckled a bit and squeezed his hand so he would look at her. They shared a look and she blushed again. Then to his surprise she leaned in and gently kissed him.

It made his heart stop and Ned loudly gasp.

Once they broke the kiss, all Peter could do was to stare at her stunned. Then after a moment, he smiled like a fool and Liz looked surprisingly dorky too.

“Oh my god!”

They both turned when Ned said that. Liz’s eyes widened and Peter groaned internally. Next to their table was no other than Tony Stark, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist and unbeknownst to the majority of people, demon.

“No, just Tony boy, but I like your spirit.”

He laughed and Ned just gaped at him, Liz blushed and stammered a greeting while Peter subtly glared at him.

“Hello Mr Stark I didn’t think you would enjoy fast food.”

The man smiled at Peter, “oh I do I love your average man’s hamburger, they are so juicy.” Peter looked at him, wondering what this was about, then again, he wasn’t too sure he wanted to know.

Tony looked at him, “well I just came by here and saw you and your friends Mr Parker so I thought I’d just say hello.” For some reason he gave Peter an intense stare, which made him wonder if he had offended the man in some way.

“Peter, may I steal you for a second?”

Peter nodded and stood, following Tony outside into the mostly empty parking lot. It was so weird being seen with him in public.

“Is she your girlfriend?”

Peter was taken aback by that question, “uh pardon?” Tony gave him a critical look, “that girl, that sweet little girl is she your girlfriend?”

Peter shrugged, “I am not sure yet, we…it was our first kiss.” He blushed a bit and couldn’t stop smiling like a dork. Tony didn’t seem amused, he pushed his glasses up and gave Peter a look with his intense, yellow eyes.

“Will this interfere with your work?”

Peter looked puzzled, “no, why should it?” The man shrugged and dropped his glasses on his nose again, “maybe you will be too distracted thinking about your little sweetheart than to investigate the cases I get you. I just want to make sure I am not the loser in this.”

Peter rolled his eyes, “I know what I have to do Tony, don’t worry. I also have no desire to pull my friends into this; my life is dangerous enough as it is.”

Tony nodded slightly, but it didn’t seem convinced, “yes…if it distracts you too much I would have to remove her from your life.” Peter narrowed his eyes, “don’t you dare.”

He turned around, “bye Mr Stark, bye Happy.” He walked away, casually before he stopped at the doors to the restaurant to look at Tony, “one could almost think that you are jealous.”

He snickered and went inside again.

Tony huffed and got into the car. Happy took the wheel and drove him back to his tower. The ride was silent for the first few minutes.

“Are you jealous boss?”

Tony was almost startled, Happy wasn’t the talkative type and he was so used to his silence that him speaking really caught him by surprise.

“Uh of course not,” he let out a laugh, “he is just a kid and I am a thousand of years old crossroad demon.” Happy hummed but didn’t say anything else.

“Not that he isn’t attractive, with all that training and proper clothes he is…cute. But I couldn’t get involved with him, he is just a human and I would just get bored of him.”

Happy glanced at him through the rear view mirror. Tony shook his head and took off his glasses to rub his eyes, “I could have him of course, he would fall for me hard and fast and I could have my way with him. He wouldn’t even know what hit him and be head over heels for me.”

The car stopped because of a red light and the other back door opened and a man in an also expensive looking black suit slid into the seat next to Tony.

“Sounds like a challenge to me Anthony.”

Tony smiled, “well if it isn’t the trickster, how do you fare these days?” The black haired man shrugged and smiled at the demon, “you know me Tony, nothing can keep me down for long.”

Tony laughed, “yes except for that angel you are pinning after, Loki.” Loki smiled at him, “you mean Thor? Ah he is just a toy, I like to torment him. In many ways he is just an adorable golden retriever.”

Tony nodded and offered him a drink he produced from the middle console of the seat. Loki took it and they both smiled as they took a sip.

“You were saying something about a challenge?”

Loki sighed happily as the hard liquor burned down his throat, “ah yes you said you could seduce that human boy. I don’t think you can.”

Tony smiled at him and opened his mouth but Loki raised a finger and added, “without using your powers.” The demon paused and looked at Loki for a second.

“What would I gain from that?”

Loki shrugged again and took the bottle to refill his glass, “a nice fuck? Some insight into the human mind? I don’t know this is about fun Tony and about challenging yourself.”

Tony thought about it for a moment before taking a slow sip from his drink. Loki was a trickster, not really a demon nor an angel but something in between.

He was chaotic neutral and never took a side in the big game.

Still he was not without powers and Tony had to admit that he was always a little impressed just how powerful he truly was, after all he was able to bend reality to his will without having to seal a contract or anything.

“Let’s make it more interesting.”

Loki raised his eyebrows and Tony could see an excited glint in those green eyes. The trickster could never turn down a chance for some entertainment.

Tony smiled at him, “I will try to seduce the boy, without my powers just by being me and you will try to get that angel.” He leaned over and his smile turned into a smirk, “should be easy right, making the nice and righteous Thor fall for you? Making him beg you for your love and affection?”

The corner of Loki’s mouth twitched but he couldn’t possibly back down from that challenge, besides he was quite sure that Thor was an easy conquest, even if he was an angel.

Tony smiled at him, “are you accepting?” Loki smiled, “you seduce that human, I seduce my angel, sounds like an interesting set up. The game should be…not boring at least.”

Tony laughed, “I wouldn’t want to bore you trickster, now we will start on Monday and the first one who gets the other one into bed for a nice round of…passionate hugging.”

“Fucking,” Loki corrected.

“Will win, but only if they do it out of free will and because they have fallen for us, deal?”

Tony held out his hand, but Loki didn’t take it, “what does the winner get?” The demon raised an eyebrow, “a nice fuck? Do you want something else?”

Loki nodded, “oh yes I do, if I win I get…the boy’s contract if you win, you get…” Tony cut him off, “if I win, I get the Tesseract. I know you have stolen it from the angels.”

Loki smiled, “well it wasn’t too hard they literally dropped it at my feet.” He laughed but nodded, “yes, I get the human and you get the cube.”

He grabbed Tony’s hand, “deal.”

Magic sparked over their hands and sealed the deal, the game was on and neither of them were willing to lose. Both men were smart, sharp and very confident in their abilities.

They had played games before and neither of them had lost more than he had won. It was balanced, they were equals, almost friends, but this time there were higher stakes because neither of them wanted to lose their precious belonging to the other party.

They finished the bottle of whiskey and at the next stop; Loki got out of the car and walked through the traffic. Not even one car even came near him but one driver suddenly lost control over his vehicle and drove right into a lamppost.

The lamppost crashed into the street right in front of a man who rode his bicycle. The man flew over the post and onto the cargo area of a truck that hit its breaks just in time to not drive into the post.

Thankfully there were sacks with something on the cargo area so the cyclist didn’t die but meanwhile two other cars collided, trying to not hit the breaking truck.

It was a nice and clean chaos.

Tony leaned back in his seat and smiled, “Tesseract, here I come.” Happy gave him a look in the mirror, he would never say it but he liked the boy and he was not okay with Tony using him as a poker chip.

Tony looked at him, “something wrong?” Happy put up the divider between the front and the back and drove them home in silence.

Peter and Liz kissed some more but stopped as Liz’s mother picked them up. It was awkward to kiss in front of one of their parents.

They kept holding hands though and both of them were so happy.

The rest of the weekend was great, they texted, went on walks and had dinner together. It was date night for his parents again and he was in charge of Teresa and invited Liz over to spend the evening with him.

The evening was over quicker than he would have liked. Teresa was asleep in her bed while he and Liz were making out on the couch when the front door opened.

They quickly separated and looked a bit guilty especially since Peter’s parents seemed to know exactly what had been going on before they entered. Well they had been young once too.

After his father offered to get Liz home safely, on a five minute walk mind you, Peter went to his room.

He smiled and stretched before sitting down in front of his computer, maybe Tony already sent him a new assignment for the coming week.

It wasn’t unusual and so he logged into his computer and pulled up the portal Tony had set up. It was kind of like a job portal and once in a while Peter got to choose between three or two assignments.

This time however it was only one and the title wasn’t very telling. It only read, “dinner at six, don’t be late.” Peter was honestly so confused it was almost funny.

He shook his head, accepting the assignment before closing the program to surf a bit on the internet until it was time for bed.

The next day was quite alright for a Monday and Peter didn’t mind school too much that day. It was a nice day and he got to spend a few hours with Liz that he enjoyed very much.

Of course everyone was asking stupid questions and staring at them and Flash even tried to mock him but Liz only sent him a death glare once and he shut up for the rest of the day.

Peter and Ned had to stay after school to work on a project and as five pm rolled around Peter had to pack up and say goodbye to his friend.

He hurried out of school and into the sleek black car that was already waiting for him. To his surprise, or more precisely utter disbelieve, Tony was already sitting in the back, smiling at him.

“Hi boy wonder, how are you today?”

Peter sat down, holding his bag to his chest, “surprised and confused, mostly.” Tony laughed and pushed his glasses up on his head to look at the boy with his yellow eyes.

“Why surprised?”

Peter blinked and looked away, these eyes always bothered him a bit, “you never pick me up after school and on top of that you want dinner?”

He shook his head, “is it your birthday, because it most certainly isn’t mine.” Tony laughed and smiled at the boy, “Peter I think we should just you know, improve our relationship.”

Peter looked at him, “uh…okay?”

Tony looked at him in such an intense way that made Peter feel quite uncomfortable.

He looked away and sighed, “I uh, where are we going for dinner?” At that the demon smiled, “we are going to one of my favourite places, it is called.”

He couldn’t hide the grin, “Angel’s diner.”

Peter gave him a blank look.

“Plot twist, the owner is called Angel and,” he held out a finger, “is in no way close to being an angel, in fact hell will have her soul in maybe five years, but she makes some damn good burgers.”

Peter slowly nodded, “I like burgers.”

“Who doesn’t?” Tony said clapping his hands, “hurry Happy, we need to feed that young man.” The driver, as usually, didn’t reply and just drove the car at the same speed as before.

Peter sighed internally, he hated going on rides with Tony, they were always so terribly awkward. At least for him.

They rode ten minutes in silence until they finally got out and into the diner. Tony slid into a booth and Peter sat down on the other side of the table.

Without a word Tony slid him a menu and Peter began to look through it.

“So, what is my next assignment?”

Tony sighed, “can we not have a nice dinner? Why do you have to bring up work?” The demon sighed dramatically but smiled as the waitress came over, to take their order.

“What can I get you guys?”

Tony smiled, “I want your cheeseburger and tell Angel, that Tony is here.” The waitress looked confused for a second then she seemed to understand and gave him her biggest smile, “ah you are Mr Stark, I mean Tony ah yes of course.”

Peter rolled his eyes, “I take a bacon cheeseburger with fries.” The waitress nodded and left with their order.

They looked at each other and while Tony just smiled at Peter, the felt so awkward. Luckily a woman walked up to their table. She was neither particularly beautiful nor ugly but she smiled at Tony.

“Tony, my favourite customer, how are you today?”

Peter watched the demon grin widely at the woman, “my Angel how are you? You look good or rather the same as always.” He actually stood and hugged the woman and Peter sighed.

The demon seriously tried to appear normal in front of him. It was so silly.

Peter shook his head and looked outside.

“And who is this fine young man? Your son? No he is too old for that, nephew?”

Tony laughed, “no, no he is my intern you know how important my employees are to me.” The woman nodded and after a bit more meaningless chatter she left the alone.

Peter was quite glad about that and looked at Tony, “I really don’t know why you are putting up this act Tony but it isn’t working. I will not buy it.”

Tony looked at the boy before sighed, “alright, alright.”

He produced a folder from nowhere and placed it on the table.

Peter finally smiled and relaxed, never before had he been so happy about being handed work. He flipped the folder open as their food arrived and he munched on some fries as he read the profile of his next target.

He frowned a bit, “you are not serious?” He looked up at the demon unsure if what he was reading was correct.

“A wendigo?”

Tony nodded, “yep, his name is long since lost but that creature is so vile the earth will wither where he stands.”

Peter swallowed and looked down on the picture of the creature that once had, probably been human.

Thor Odinson, angel of the lord and a being of true and pure good sat on a chair taking a small and almost cautious bite from the crepes that lay beautifully prepared on a plate in front of him.

It was filled with strawberries and whipped cream, topped off with a delicate pattern made of dark and white chocolate. It was almost too beautiful to eat.

Thor loved the food down here on earth, it was special and ever changing so it never got boring. The only thing that would make this better would be the right company. Speaking of which.

“Thor!”

The angel looked up and smiled, “Loki, what a pleasant surprise.” The trickster sat down on the chair opposite of him and tilted his head, “pleasant? Well I guess that is what I get for being so nice for so long.”

Thor laughed and pushed his cup of tea over to Loki, he fancied coffee more.

“What can I do for you today? Have you seen reason and will give me the tesseract so I can take you back to heaven where you belong?”

Loki smirked at him, “Thor you know I never belonged in heaven and even if I did, that place is so dull and unexciting I rather ate a handful of bees than to go back.”

Thor wrinkled his nose, “why would you do something so dreadful? Bees are peaceful and friendly creatures, they should be protected and cherished and not…eaten.”

Loki laughed, “ah you divine fool. It is a metaphor I would never eat bees.” Not entirely true. “Now tell me what news in heaven?”

Thor sighed, “not good ones.” An understatement. “I fear hell is rising and more evil than usual is breaking through the borders.”

Loki hummed and watched Thor eat, “the boy doesn’t stand a chance huh?” Thor looked at him and for once his smile disappeared and his face turned surprisingly serious.

“The boy may be the only one who can slow this down. He is bright with a good heart; my only fear is that Anthony might corrupt him beyond saving.” Might?

Loki smiled at him, “aw Thor, when will you learn?” He reached out and put his pale hand over Thor’s big one, “not everyone wants to be saved.” True not everyone is smart.


	4. Sent from the sky lies an angel in need

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys I am back from my vacation.   
> Japan is lovely even with a typhoon causing lots of chaos.
> 
> Anyway enjoy that chapter and beware of gore

Loki watched the boy as he walked into school. Humans were funny creatures and easy to mess with especially teenagers. Their hormone controlled bodies are so fragile and weird.

Loki followed the boy unnoticed by everyone around them, the trickster was only seen if he wanted to be seen. The boy went to his locker and opened it talking to his fat friend.

The black haired man wrinkled his nose at him but decided to focus on Peter instead. The deal said they were to seduce their targets without their powers, no one ever said that they couldn’t mess with the other side.

Loki watched as an adorable young girl walked up to the boy and they shared a quick and innocent kiss. The trickster smiled, the boy was already doing his job, he just had to make sure Tony didn’t get rid of the girl so the kid wouldn’t fall for the demon.

This was almost too easy.

“You shouldn’t meddle with humans and love, you know that don’t you?”

Loki turned to see a smiling Thor leaning against the wall.

The trickster gave the angel a smirk, “well that is rich coming from an angel, isn’t it your job to meddle with humans and their love?”

Thor brushed his hair back, “why do you suddenly have an interest in the boy, Loki? You knew for years that he works for Stark, why is he now of interest?”

The trickster shrugged and strolled closer to his angel. The bell was ringing and the teens went to their classes so only the two deities remained in the hallway.

Loki shrugged, “I have my reasons Thor.”

He went to a locker and the door popped open without him even putting a hand on it. Loki looked inside and pulled out a notebook to flip through it.

The angle sighed, “Loki, you shouldn’t do this, I know you can be good. Please accept my help and come back to heaven with me.” The trickster tore a page out of the notebook and flicked it away.

Conveniently, the page flew to the other side of the hallway and slid perfectly into another locker.

He stepped towards Thor and the door closed shut behind him.

“Again, why would I want to go back?”

Thor sighed and walked up to him, putting a heavy hand onto his shoulder, “because it is your home and you know full well you belong there Loki.”

The trickster smiled at him, “I don’t Thor, I belong here, I love chaos, I love debauchery and I love messing with the humans and I know you love watching me.”

The angel suddenly blushed and took a step back, “I certainly don’t, my sole purpose here on earth is to watch over you and to make sure you do not expose us.”

Loki rolled his eyes, “Thor I tried to explain it to you before even if I wanted to, it wouldn’t work. Not the way I would like to anyway.”

The angel still seemed rather concerned and Loki sighed, “how about lunch? I still owe you one right? From uh…?” Thor chuckled, “from when you stole the spear of Odin.”

Loki laughed, “ah yes, his face was priceless.” Thor smiled and together they walked out of the school, “he still curses you for that Loki.”

The trickster grinned, “I know but under no circumstances would I give away my favourite mop.”

Peter spent his computer class to do some research. What he found about wendigo wasn’t really nice and he was biting his lip as he read about it.

“Dude, are you with me?”

Peter flinched and looked at Ned. They blinked at each other and Peter sighed, “ah yeah sorry I was just uh reading something.”

Ned snorted, “yes I can see that. Why are you suddenly so interested in folklore and that stuff?” Peter shrugged and his eyes went back to the screen.

“It is just interesting you know.”

Ned shrugged, “if you think so. I think Europe is way cooler in that stuff but a wendigo? That thing is nasty.”

Peter looked at him, “ah you think a human turned monster because they became a cannibal is really that bad?” They both chuckled and Peter shook his head.

“You…really don’t plan on telling me why you are researching that?”

Peter felt a bit guilty, “it is for my internship.” Ned clearly didn’t believe him but he didn’t press, he knew better by now.

School was over and Peter got into Happy’s car having a sandwich and a can of Pepsi. He was glad that Mr Stark wasn’t there else he wouldn’t probably be able to work.

The problem with the wendigo was that it didn’t openly kill; it was kidnapping people, probably storing them and then eating them.

Peter looked at the reports about missing people and opened a map on the tablet. The missing people were all from roughly the same area.

“Karen?”

“Yes Peter?”

“Please check if there have been any attacks by homeless people reported to the police also show me which buildings are condemned or currently inhabited.”

Karen highlighted a few buildings on his map and Peter tried to figure out which one was most likely the one where the wendigo was hiding.

“There have been thirty attacks reported in that area. Only five however show a similarity.”

Peter pulled up the reports on the tablet, “tried to bite me…tried to drag me away and bite me…attacked from behind and bit shoulder…”

He shuddered a bit, “ugh creepy, show me were those happened?” The areas matched at one point and he told Happy to drive him there. He wasn’t really prepared but he was sure that the wendigo would be sleeping anyway.

Peter got out of the car and looked around. The area wasn’t that good and he decided that the car would only draw unwanted attention so he took his backpack and told Happy to drive a couple of blocks away.

He walked down the sidewalk, looking around for traces but of course there was hardly anything out of the ordinary around here. Mostly dirt, people and other things he didn’t want to think about.

He found one of the abandoned buildings and after a quick glance around he went into an alley and ripped a board from an broken window.

Peter was once again thankful for his thin frame and slipped effortlessly into the building. He coughed and put a hand over his mouth and nose as he smelled dust, human excrements and a stench he could never quite get out of his nose nowadays.

Something dead was in here.

Peter pulled out a torch from his backpack and lit it to look around. He knew he should call Happy and get him to bring his equipment but he heard a soft groan in the distance.

Every hair on the back of his neck stood and he swallowed heavily. He was sure there was someone injured here and so he followed the soft noises.

Finally when he rounded a corner he saw a person, curled up on the floor only dressed in rags. Soft whimpers and groans came from them and Peter looked around before he crouched next to that person.

“Uh hey, can I help you?”

He slowly reached out to touch that persons shoulder as he did the noises stopped and two eyes looked at him. An ice cold feeling ran down his spine and Peter knew he was in trouble.

Peter jumped up but something heavy and hard hit him in the back of his head and everything turned black.

When Peter came back to be he was hanging upside down his hands on the floor his legs tied up.

He groaned and looked around.

He didn’t see much but heard steps as someone moved around, then there was an audible gasp and a thud.

Peter frowned and put his hands on the floor to spin himself around, which was a mistake, because he saw the dead eyes of a man stare at him.

He let out a shout and the steps came closer to him.

Strong hands grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him up into the horrible, disfigured face of what had once been a woman.

The wendigo had yellow eyes, but not like Tony’s, no they rather looked like cat’s eyes with a big streak of crazy in them. Her breath smelled like something had died in her mouth and the teeth were surprisingly sharp and yellow.

The wendigo stared at Peter, sniffing him and growling. The boy was too deep in shock to do anything else than stare. He didn’t know what he had expected but it wasn’t that. She just looked too human.

Sure she was surprisingly tall and muscular and her teeth were just wrong but she had only filthy, dark hair covering her head, no fur. Her fingernails were more like claws now but still she seemed so human.

“H-Hey I-I am Peter who are you?”

The wendigo narrowed her eyes at him and sniffed him again. She growled something that may have been words, before she let go and Peter almost hit his head on the floor.

He let out a shout and shook his head, trying not to lose sight of her.

The wendigo turned and walked away, her bare feet not making too much noise on the ground. She went and grabbed the body off the floor, throwing it over her shoulder and carrying it away.

Peter waited till she rounded a corner before he pulled himself up and began to untie his legs. He felt weirdly like Luke from Star Wars.

He chuckled and yelped as he hit the floor.

Peter quickly turned on his front and looked around warily. There was no one in sight and so he slowly got up and followed the wendigo down the hall and peeked around the corner.

He wished he didn’t.

Peter quickly turned around and heaved a bit, the stench was too much and he tried to ban the picture from his mind. He didn’t think it would be so horrible.

It became even harder as he heard quenching noises and smacks of someone or rather something eating raw flesh and other things.

Peter swallowed and slowly moved away.

He had to get help or gear, that wendigo was strong and he would surely die if he tried to fight the creature head on without anything.

Peter snuck away and looked around for his backpack or phone but didn’t find it. He cussed internally and kept sneaking to the exit.

Without his phone he wouldn’t be able to call for help and he didn’t like that so he kept sneaking but a sound made him look behind him.

The wendigo stared at him a piece of flesh hanging from her mouth as she slowly chewed on it.

Peter let out a quite unmanly yelp before he darted down the hall, the monster close behind. He rushed around a corner, losing his footing and hitting his shoulder hard on the floor as he fell.

The fact, that seconds later the wendigo flew over him showed that his fall was actually a good thing. Weird.

Peter cussed and got up running into another direction hoping to find a quick way outside.

The monster kept chasing him and it was close behind. Without his gear beating this beast was damn near impossible. He had to lose it or else he might get chewed at.

Peter spotted a window or what remained of it. The frame was still in but the glass was gone instead a single plank of thin wood covered it.

He had to take this chance.

Letting out a scream he jumped, hitting the wood with his uninjured shoulder before he broke through and to his surprise, fell.

Peter had only seconds to realize that he was not, like he guessed on the ground floor but he was in fact on the second floor.

He screamed his arms moving wildly in the air as he fell but instead of breaking both of his legs on the ground, two strong arms caught him.

“You know I always thought to be quite catching but never really had any proof.”

Peter groaned loudly and put his forehead down on Mr Starks shoulder. The demon chuckled, “rough day?”

The boy sighed, “quite. Did you bring my gear?” The demon let him down and smiled at him, opening the door of his car giving Peter a nice view of every bit of gear he ever made for him.

A thud sounded from behind Peter and the boy turned around as the wendigo landed on the ground. They were standing in some sort of backyard and so no one could see them.

The sun was fading and so Peter almost only saw the two glowing yellow eyes of the creature. 

“Oh my, what an ugly beast, watch out for the teeth or you will have to get a rabies shot.”

Peter nodded and grabbed his webshooters and a pair of goggles. He put both on not taking his eyes off the monster.

“Why isn’t she attacking?”

Mr Stark smirked at him, “because of me, she knows I could destroy her.” Peter nodded, “ah so why don’t you?” The demon still smirked, “because that would go against the contract?”

Peter frowned as he got ready, “what contract?” The demon closed the car door and leaned against his vehicle, “everyone has a contract Peter, now go and capture her, my team is ready.”

Peter sighed and walked towards the monster. The wendigo loudly hissed at him baring her teeth and Peter could see that she got ready to jump him.

He waited for it and used his webs to pull himself into the air as she jumped at him kicking her in the face. He was out of her reach as he flipped in the air and shot her with his webs.

The webs stuck her leg to the ground and three more made it almost impossible for her to move. With a flick of his wrist and another web he hung from the building looking for a way to get down safely as the wendigo fucked with his plans.

The monster let out an inhuman screech and Peter was almost sure a window near him burst because of it as she ripped the webs and got up.

Peter gaped and even Tony seemed surprise, had they both been convinced that the web fluid could withstand the strength of almost every creature.

The, now very angry, wendigo literally grabbed the ground, tore off a large piece and threw it at Peter. He let out a surprised yelp and let go of the building to avoid getting hit by a shit ton of dirt.

This was the opportunity the monster had waited for as it jumped once Peter was in reach, grabbed his ankle and crushed it. Never in his life had Peter screamed like this, the pain was above everything he had ever experienced.

Yes he had a few broken bones before and once he had also been stabbed by some crazy monster that had used its own bones to stab him, but this was different. He was flung around and thrown to the ground, the wendigo landing on top of him, knocking the remainder of air out of his lungs.

He coughed and looked at the crazy yellow eyes that were fixed on his face.

Tony visibly winced and nervously licked his lips as he watched the scene unfold. This wasn’t going according to plan. Not in the least.

He hissed and paced in front of his car, he had lost people like Peter before, many, many people but never had he grown so attached to one of them. Sure he had liked Steve…somewhat at least, but when he died he didn’t shed a tear.

With Peter it was different, he had the bet after all.

No way in hell was he going to lose against Loki. He couldn’t lose that and Peter. He gritted his teeth but Happy gave him a warning look, Tony couldn’t get involved, even more.

Peter managed to bring his hands up and grab the wendigo just before it tried to rip out his throat with its teeth. He groaned, pushing her back but the beast was strong and he was dizzy from pain.

He didn’t want to die, he didn’t make that stupid deal to change his life just to die and lose it all again.

A desperate scream escaped his throat as he managed to activate his web shooters, hitting the woman right in the face.

The wendigo stumbled backwards letting out a muffled screech and Peter managed to crawl away. Pain shot up his spine as he accidentally moved his injured leg.

He gasped and almost threw up but he knew no one would help him, he had to do this alone. It was either her or him. He swallowed his bile down and assessed the situation.

He could barely move, which was of course, quite bad. She was currently distracted, which was good. He looked around trying to find a way to finish the job but his mind was busy telling him that his crushed ankle hurt like a bitch.

Someone cleared his throat behind him and Peter turned to look at Tony. The demon looked at him over the rim of his glasses and knocked on the window of the car.

Peter stared blankly at him before a light went off in his head. He turned and saw the wendigo ripping the webbing off her face.

Peter swallowed and got up on one leg, it was a pain in so many ways. He shot two more webs at her, one holding her leg in place and the second to web her hands to her face.

It clearly made her even angrier and Peter knew he didn’t have much time. He aimed for the building and shot two webs, pulling hard.

As his luck would have it one of his webs tore and he cussed loudly. He wanted to shoot another but he had run out of web fluid and time.

He grabbed the remaining string of webbing and pulled at it, hearing a satisfying, crunch as the front of the building broke. It was already in such a bad shape.

The wendigo turned as the facade fell down on it and screamed in pain, but Peter knew it was still not enough. The wendigo struggled to free her leg from under the rubble and get away.

Peter didn’t let her do either of those things and used his remaining web shooter to shoot another web and pulled at it. The sound of breaking glass was carried through the night as shards rained down on the monster.

Peter rarely heavily injured or even killed the monsters he hunted. It didn’t feel good or right to do that but once in a while he had to save his own butt first.

He panted and lay on his back as Tony slowly clapped and the team went to gather the still breathing wendigo. The long shards of glass that stuck in almost every inch of her body didn’t kill her but she might not survive still.

Peter looked at Tony, “my ankle hurts.” Tony nodded, “I will take care of that don’t worry.”

Peter nodded and closed his eyes, “there is another one I think.” Tony hummed, “possible, but I don’t care the contract stated one and I will deliver only one, extras are not rewarded.”

Peter wanted to get angry but he didn’t have enough energy for that so he just passed out.

When Peter woke up his head hurt, his mouth was dry and his left leg was completely numb. He looked around rubbing his eyes but he couldn’t properly see. His vision was still blurry.

The room he was in was familiar to him by now and he sighed searching for the small remote that was always close by when he was there.

He grunted a bit as he didn’t find it but suddenly the warm but dim light went on and someone handed him a cup.

Peter took it and downed the water instantly.

He sighed and smiled, “thanks Tony.” The demon smiled, “don’t mention it. How do you feel?”

Peter looked at him, “alive.” Both of them laughed quietly and Peter handed him the cup back. Tony poured another round of water into it and Peter took smaller sips this time.

“This was far too close for comfort Tony. I could have died.”

The demon nodded, watching him, “I know Peter, believe me I don’t want this to happen but well, I told you this would be dangerous.”

Peter sighed, pulling the blanket back and revealing his injured ankle. It was wrapped in bandages and looked surprisingly normal.

“Yes you also said you would keep me safe.”

Tony nodded, “well I said that I would do my best to keep you safe, I cannot help you with your cases Peter, giving you tech and fixing you up is all I can do.”

Peter looked at him, “what did you tell my parents?” Tony took the cup again as Peter got comfortable in his bed, “I told them you fell asleep in the lab again, I also sent a message to your girlfriend saying you were stuck at work when she asked when you would come home.”

Peter’s eyes widened, “oh no Liz, please give me my phone I need to call her.” The demon shook his head, “no you need to sleep darling, you can call her tomorrow.”

He stood and though Peter kept protesting he dimmed the light until his eyes were the brightest thing in the room.

“Good night Peter, tomorrow you will be healed, sleep tight.”

“Wait Tony I…” but Tony was already out of the door, closing it behind him.

The demon shook his head walking to his office.

This boy would be his downfall, he was sure of it.

Letting out a sigh he sat down on his desk, looking at the files spread across it. He picked up a picture of a boy with hair so blond it almost looked white.

For some reason he always kept a picture of the people he used.

The demon leaned back looking at the picture.

~Three years ago~

Tony sighed as he looked at the dead boy and watched his twin sister weep for him. The girl screamed out her pain holding the bloody corpse to her chest.

“Dang it.”

Happy gave Tony a look.

“What? Now I have to get a new one. Pietro was good. I mean not good enough to not get killed by that vampire but he did a decent job.”

The demon shook his head looking around as his team cleaned up the scene. At least the sister had been able to detain the vampire so the contract was fulfilled.

Letting out another annoyed huff Tony looked at his watch. It showed the time, always accurate and reliable. Tony wasn’t interested in the time though so he pushed his watch down a bit to look at the counter.

He hissed through his teeth.

The number was still way too high.

Angrily he shook his hand, making the watch slide back into place as well as his sleeve.

“I will have to get another one, a good one this time, don’t wait for me Happy.”

He turned around to leave but the large man grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

His face was stony as always even as he spoke, “what about the girl?” Tony blinked, “what about her, I didn’t have a contract with her only with her brother. She decided to get involved she isn’t my problem.”

Happy nearly glared at him but didn’t say anything. He let go and Tony sighed, “fine I will pay for the funeral and all that. She will be taken care of. Can you do that? You are good doing that.”

He waved his hand leaving the man behind as he went to the sleek black car that drove up to him.

Smiling he got behind the wheel as the door opened without him doing anything. He sat down and the door closed as he turned on the radio.

The car started up with a really satisfying roar and he drove into the night. Tony began to hum along to Guns n Roses’ paradise city as he nearly crashed the car.

“You are running out of time Stark.”

“Fuck me silly!”

The demon stared at the one eyed man next to him. Fury had always been a pain in the ass and he knew it. He treated it like his trademark.

The man raised an eyebrow, “eyes on the road demon.” Tony growled but did so, shaking his head.

“What do you want Fury?”

The man leaned back in the seat, obviously comfortable, “I am here to remind you that you are running out of time. Hell is about to break loose and if you don’t stop it you will spend an awfully long time cleaning up that mess.”

The demon huffed, “do you need to remind me of my contract every time we meet? One would think that doing this job for over two centuries would make me the expert on this.”

Fury chuckled, “you think I would trust you with anything? You are a demon and an alcoholic.” Tony rolled his eyes, “my blood is more potent than any alcohol the humans ever invented, so that doesn’t count.”

He turned to shoot his yellow gaze at the man, “also you are just a lowly messenger Fury, don’t act as if you were anything else.”

The man shifted and leaned towards him, “I may not be on the same level as Thor and the likes Tony, but I will still sit on the right side of the wall when the apocalypse comes. You know that so shut your damn mouth and look at the street.”

Tony growled and looked back just in time to avoid running a damn teenager over who was walking in the middle of the dark street.

The poor boy jumped out of his way and Tony slammed the breaks. Fury chuckled amused, “well Tony looks like you found your next victim.”

Tony turned to cuss at Fury but he was already gone, so instead he sighed and got out of the car. Hopefully he didn’t hurt the boy too bad. It wouldn’t please his bosses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for today folks, poor Peter got a beating and Tony is all worried.   
> I wonder who will win that bet.
> 
> Leave your thoughts and suggestions down below.   
> Thanks for reading


	5. Heaven's doused and set alight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there everyone, only a small chapter this time and a confusing one but it is intentional. 
> 
> I still hope you enjoy it

Peter had this strange dream again.

A dream where he stood in an empty room, it was dimly lit and he was not able to see the walls. As he turned around he saw two people in comfortable chairs sitting.

One of the people looked familiar but they were almost hidden in the shadows.

Peter blinked and walked towards them, his steps made dull sounds on the floor. As he came closer the saw that there was a chessboard on a coffee table between them.

Both players had a nice collection of pawns on their side but still it looked like there wasn’t a piece missing on the board. The familiar figure reached out and collected one of the black pawns but as soon as he set the piece down another black pawn appeared on his opponent’s side.

Suddenly, the other person, a rather thin one, turned to look at him, but Peter couldn’t see a face. The person lifted a finger and pointed at him. Red lips formed a word he couldn’t understand.

As if doused in cold water Peter startled awake.

He looked around but it was only his room that greeted him. The boy swallowed and got out of bed, his heart still racing for some reason.

Peter had never been a big dreamer, most of the time he forgot his dreams instantly or just never had any. This dream however, it repeated itself again and again.

It almost scared him.

Peter got out of bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower and put on some clothes. As always his injuries didn’t leave any scars and he was glad about it.

He had not forgotten when a ghoul had punched him in the face so hard that he broke three of his teeth. It had been an ugly affair but Tony’s demon magic had brought back his teeth.

After getting dressed Peter walked downstairs and into the kitchen. The school was closed at the moment because a pipe burst and flooded the entire building over the weekend and his parents were still asleep.

It was only a week but it was a nice change of pace.

Peter made a cup of tea and slowly sipped it as he walked over into the living room. Everything looked like always, the large window front that showed their backyard and the patio was stainless and perfect.

The sun had not risen yet and only a slight orange glimmer showed that it was about to happen.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

The days had been quiet; Tony had been busy with whatever and not given him any assignments. He had not asked for any either.

Peter opened the patio door and stepped outside. The fresh air felt good and he took a few deep breaths, still holding his tea.

He didn’t know how long he stood there but the sun was further on its way up when the wind picked up.

Peter shivered a bit in the cold air and as a strong breeze messed up his curls he decided to go inside again. As he turned however, a small creature sat on the patio table, looking at him curiously.

Peter froze, holding his cup tightly, he would throw it in an emergency.

The little creature smiled, showing a set of pin like teeth. They looked rather creepy and dirty.

“Hello?”

“Peter Parker?”

Peter didn’t answer, it was too dangerous to confirm your name to a stranger. He frowned, “who are you?” The little creature chuckled and moved around a little bit.

Peter saw that its skin was weirdly grey and its eyes glowed red. It looked a bit like a tiny troll or Toadwart from the gummy bears. He really wondered what this creature wanted from him.

“I am of my master’s making, I am Ultron and you are a knight of and against hell. Funny, funny human.”

Peter blinked, “uh who is your master.” The creature, Ultron, giggled, “the same as yours but I am free now, free to go about and watch this world burn to ashes. It is very entertaining I have to say.”

Peter frowned, “alright uh Ultron, I don’t know what you are talking about, but I have to inform you that my house has a security system that picks up monster intruders so please leave or I will have a special force team on my doorstep any minute.”

Ultron squealed, “oh yes, oh yes, let them come, I love that redhead she is something else.” He was far too happy for Peter’s liking and he was getting cold.

“Get lost Ultron, I am busy.”

The little troll shook his head, “no, no, nooo. The mistress wants you to listen. She is sending you messages but you are not listening, you don’t understand. Stupid human.”

Now Peter was offended, “I am not stupid you grey turd. Get off my property or I will kick you like a football.” The creature growled and glared at him, all amusement gone.

“You will listen to her Peter Parker. No one denies the Mistress.”

Peter scoffed, but just as he wanted to throw another insult Ultron’s way the little creature jumped him. He let out a yelp and threw his cup but he missed him.

Ultron laughed and sunk his surprisingly sharp teeth deep into Peter’s outstretched arm and the boy let out a scream.

The troll now hung on his arm and Peter felt the burning hot pain spread through his entire limp. He cussed and punched Ultron away who dropped to the ground dead.

Peter stared at the little body, holding his arm to his chest.

“What the fuck you little shit I…oh fuck!”

He took a look at his wound and saw grey spreading, slowly turning black. His arm began to burn like it was on fire and he barely managed to dial Tony’s emergency number before it became too much.

Peter screamed just as everything turned black.

Tony was reading a report when Natasha stormed in, “they got to the kid. He got bitten by an Ultron.”

The demon looked up and hissed. He jumped up, throwing his chair back and shaking his head, “no, how did he get into the house? It was warded!”

The redhead shrugged, “don’t know maybe he dug his way inside. We have secured the kid and told his parents that he got bitten by a snake.”

Tony stood, “where is he, did you bring him here?” Natasha nodded, “of course, no hospital could help him anyway.” Tony nodded a bit relieved.

He put on his sunglasses and rushed to the elevator. The doors closed behind him, leaving Natasha behind but Tony wasn’t alone.

“So are you going to kiss his bubu now?”

Tony stared at the doors, whishing the elevator would run faster, “not now Loki.” The trickster leaned against the wall, a smug smile on his face, “should I tell you how close I am to having Thor fall completely to me?”

Tony huffed, “I would have known if the angel had fallen Loki, the whole world notices something like that.” The tall man nodded, “true but how about your pet? Is he going to survive? An Ultron bite is nasty.”

Tony nodded, “it is.”

Loki looked at the mirror in the elevator, “oh right, you must know, you made him.” Tony looked at him with a glare, “I am well aware of that, thank you Loki.”

The trickster chuckled, “hey, you are trying to make up for your wild youth so no hard feelings.” Tony shook his head and stepped out of the elevator, “tell that to Peter.”

Loki smiled, “oh maybe I will.”

The demon didn’t hear it, just marched to the medical bay and Loki stayed behind. He didn’t care where he went but Tony swore he would break his neck if he kept bugging him.

The boy looked bad when he came in and Tony had seen the worst in his life. Peter’s skin was ashen and there were dark purple rings under his eyes.

The poor boy was sweating from a fever his body was unable to handle and an occasional moan escaped his lips. Bruce looked at Tony.

The doctor pushed his glasses back and sighed, “this is bad Tony.” The demon nodded, “will he make it?” Bruce looked at Peter’s face before he sighed again.

He placed a cool cloth over his forehead and showed Tony the bite on the boy’s arm. There were several small imprints of thin teeth and around each was a black ring from where the poison was spreading.

Tony could see where it moved through the boy as angry black lines moved up his arm, towards his vital organs.

“I take that as a no.”

Bruce who had known Peter since the beginning and had fixed him up so many times. He looked at the boy with sadness in his eyes. He didn’t want to bury another child.

“His chances are small, he is just human. I am sorry Tony but I don’t know what to do.”

The demon pushed up his glasses and sat next to his boy, he gently put a hand on his cheek, feeling him burning up under his touch.

“Why was it there? Why did Ultron go to Peter? It may not seem like it but he is a creature of reason.”

Bruce shrugged and handed Tony a cool, wet towel. The demon took it and began to wipe Peter’s face and neck with it.

It would give him some temporary comfort and he needed it. Meanwhile Bruce did his legs all the way up to where his hospital gown ended.

The doctor looked at Tony, “did you do something to upset Ultron? He hates you maybe something set him off.”

Tony shook his head; he put the towel into a bowl of water to wipe down Peter’s arms.

“I haven’t even thought of him in years, I couldn’t have possibly upset him. It must have been like with Red Skull, he targeted Peter too, didn’t he?”

Bruce nodded, “possible, but there is a change happening, hell is in turmoil something is not right there. Something or someone is riling up the demons.”

Tony looked at his friend. They had been through a lot and when he had decided to leave hell behind Bruce had followed him.

The demon had few friends and Bruce was probably the only real one he had. His friend looked him into the eyes, “war is coming.”

Peter stood in the middle of a room so vast he could neither see the ceiling nor the walls. It was so weird and he was really confused.

“Hello! Is somebody here?”

He shook his head and began to walk, before he began to run. His feet made wet sounds and as he looked down he realized that the floor was covered in water.

Slowly the water rose and Peter had to start swimming, which was easy at first. Over some time his arms grew heavy and the waves got bigger and pushed him underwater a few times.

He cried out for help but there seemed to be no one around.

Peter gasped and spit out a load of dark water as he resurfaced, an especially big wave had pushed him under before he had been able to get away.

He looked around as something grabbed his leg and pulled him under.

The water was so dark he couldn’t even spot his feet as he shot through it.

He tried to reach down but he was too fast and then suddenly, he wasn’t underwater anymore.

Peter screamed as he fell, the ground was dark and coming closer each second. He squeezed his eyes shut and put his arms in front of his face in fear of the impact, but it never happened.

Peter let out a whimper his feet touched the ground and as he dared to open his eyes, he blinked in confusion.

He was standing on a chessboard, looking around he realized he stood next to huge figures. He was on the white side of the board, but he couldn’t see past the huge figure in front of him.

Suddenly a chuckle, sounded in the silence, “your draw, love. White always draws first.” A hand came down on the board and moved a pawn forward.

“I will destroy you.”

Peter blinked, he didn’t know the first voice, a woman, but the second was undoubtedly Tony. He spun around and waved his hands, “Tony! Help me!”

The woman laughed and it sounded so sweet and nice that it caused Peter to shiver almost violently. It sounded so false.

“Your little pawn is acting up.”

A giant began to loom over the board and Peter gasped as he saw Tony’s face appear out of the darkness. His intense yellow gaze focused on Peter, “he is a knight.”

Peter stared at him before he screamed in pain.

Crying out loud he looked at his arm, seeing it burn in a bright flame. He screamed and tried to put the fire out but it slowly spread further up until his entire body was ablaze.

“Fuck Bruce, he needs morphine!”

“I cannot give him more! It could kill him!”

Peter shook violently and they had to hold his arms and legs down so he wouldn’t hit or kick everything close to him. He couldn’t stop screaming, the pain was too intense.

Tony cussed as Peter managed to pull free from his grip and punch him in the face. That boy was quite strong for a human.

“We need to do something, he will hurt himself or go insane if we cannot reduce the pain.”

Peter kept screaming until he was hoarse and only dry, pained sounds came from his throat. It was terrible to listen to and it was clear that the boy needed some sort of relief.

“Give him your blood.”

“No, Bruce if I give it to him, it might change him!”

“You gave it to him before, it can help him, you know that.”

The demon cussed again but it wasn’t loud enough to be heard over Peter’s sobs and other sounds.

“I just enhanced his senses and physical strength a little bit, I barely gave him two drops. If I give him more he might lose his humanity.”

“He is strong Tony, I am not asking you to feed him all of your blood, just a little.”

Peter wept as his eyes stared unfocused into the distance, he was in too much pain to actually see. The world currently only consisted of pain and his own suffering.

Had he any mind of his own right now he would have wished to die but even thinking wasn’t possible. His brain was overloaded with the pain and all he could do was scream.

Suddenly a drop of something warm landed on his tongue and he was actually able to taste the sweet taste it spread inside his mouth.

The pain faded into the background of his head for a few seconds and he basked in that relief. He blinked a few time, letting out a few sobs.

He felt so hot, almost unbearably hot and his throat was sore and dry.

“Water,” he gasped, barely audible over his ragged breathing. Someone moved next to him and his head was lifted as a glass touched his dry lips.

Peter drank the water greedily and closed his eyes after he finished.

“Tony we need to cool him down, he is burning up. Help me get him into the tub.”

Peter’s mind was working a little bit and he realized that the voice belonged to Bruce Banner, the doctor that fixed him up most of the time.

“Alright, let me take him.”

Peter was lifted off the now damp bed and slowly his mind realized that it was Tony who held him.

“Yes get him into the water, it should cool him down. Careful, don’t drop him.”

Peter sighed as something cold engulfed him.

“I know how to get a boy in a tub man, stop yapping.”

Peter lay there enjoying not being on fire as his head rolled onto the side, looking at Tony. He was far from coherent, but he managed to say something.

“I am a knight.”

Tony blinked at him before putting a wet cloth on Peter’s forehead. He smiled at him, “that you are Peter, you are my knight in shining armour.”

Peter chuckled and closed his eyes, his breath turned shallow. It concerned both men greatly but they couldn’t do much, at least most of the pain seemed to be gone for the moment.

“Why did he call himself a knight Tony?”

The demon looked up at his friend, “I don’t know, I mean he is a knight he fights for our cause but I don’t know why he would refer to himself as such. I never did so in front of him.”

Bruce took off his glasses and cleaned them as he sat down on the rim of the tub.

“This is so messed up. Anyway he will need another drop of blood in about two hours.”

Three days of Peter almost dying was enough to make Tony a nervous wreck. The bite of Ultron was almost too much for the poor human and it took another three days until the angry black streaks were gone from his body.

Tony had been really relieved and Bruce had actually cheered when they realized Peter was out of lives danger. His parents visited him after he was able to get visitors and his father barely left after that.

He had the girl with him and sat on his son’s bedside almost all day.

Tony almost felt jealous.

The demon walked down the hall, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses and focused on a Stark pad he held in his hands as he bumped into something big and rather unforgiving.

He blinked and looked up, “oh it is you.”

Thor looked down at the short demon.

“Greetings, demon, how do you fare?”

Tony sighed internally, he always hated the way Thor talked but well what was there to do about it? He smiled at him and patted his huge shoulder.

“Good, now how is my favourite angel?”

He walked around him and Thor followed him down the hall. The angel was dressed in a nice grey suit with a white shirt, to keep it casual he wore no tie and had the first few buttons unbuttoned.

“I am here to inquire about your ward.”

Tony blinked, “my what now?”

The angel frowned, “your ward, the young Parker, how is he? I heard from Lo…I heard he was badly injured.” Tony raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything about his source of information.

“Well he was bitten by an Ultron but he is over it now. I however, don’t know if this has left any permanent damage.”

The angel nodded, “I see. My superior ordered me to check up on you and your progress. I am grateful for what you are doing, I don’t approve of your methods but I am grateful for your work.”

Tony huffed, “oh Thor you just know how to make a guy feel good about himself.”

The angel beamed, not understanding his sarcasm.

“Now how are you and Loki doing?”

The smile fell and it was replaced by a little blush.

“I don’t know what you are talking about Tony.”

The demon smirked at him. It was fun to make the angel blush, but on the other hand he wondered if he was losing his bet. If Thor decided Loki was worth falling for he would lose Peter and he didn’t want that at all.

The hard part on Loki’s task was that should he manage to seduce Thor the angel would fall. Maybe not in the biblical sense but he would be like Loki, an outcast with his friends and allies gone.

They walked down the hall and into Tony’s office. The demon took his seat but the angel didn’t move to take one too. He pushed his hands into his pockets and began to look around.

Tony had a few artefacts and trinkets from the old days displayed in plain sight and the mortals loved them. He could remember how Peter had stared at them when he had been in this office for the first time.

Thor looked around, looking at the gladiator sword, hidden behind glass and the old vase next to it. The angel looked interested but rather aloof.

Tony was getting annoyed by it.

He put the pad on his desk and began to type away on his computer until Thor finally sated his curiosity and walked up to the desk again.

Tony sighed and looked up at him, taking off his sunglasses. The angel was not the least bit uncomfortable with his yellow gaze and that annoyed the demon too.

“So what are you still doing here Thor?”

The tall man sat down in the chair in front of the desk, giving Tony a rather intense stare. His eyes were so blue Tony was sure they had ripped out a piece of heaven to place it in his eyes.

He almost retched at his own thoughts.

“I am here to evaluate you Tony.”

The boy smiled at his father and talked to him. The mistress couldn’t hear what he was saying but it made her angry anyway. The boy should have suffered more.

He kept foiling her plans and that angered her.

The Ultron in her lap gnawed at a bone and looked up when she put a hand on his head.

“He didn’t die.”

“But uh wasn’t that the plan my lady?”

The mistress sighed, “it was but I still don’t like how easy he has gotten off.”

The little creature shrugged, “I can bite him again.” The powerful being waved her hand and the boy disappeared, instead it showed the black haired trickster.

He sat at a round table, a cocky grin on his face as he threw a few poker chips in the middle of it. He laughed when he showed his cards and one of the humans jumped up and jammed a knife into his chest.

The mistress hummed, “no Ultron, that wouldn’t work.”

The trickster jumped up, pulled out the knife and a full on fight began as they tried to take him down.

“I think I will try a different approach.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading
> 
> Leave your comments down below I am happy to read and answer them


	6. We’re knocking on the gates of hell tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter we finally find out a few things

“Dude where have you been?”

Peter smiled as he exchanged his signature handshake with Ned, it had been too long since they had seen each other. The two teens walked to their lockers.

“I was sick, got bitten by a snake, it was nasty.”

Ned stared at him in awe.

“What kind of snake? Was it a rattlesnake?”

Peter laughed, “we are not in Texas Ned. I don’t know what snake it was, it was dark and I was busy being in pain.” His friend nodded and they walked to their class together.

School was up as usual but as much as Peter liked going to his classes and feeling like a normal teenager, he started to feel less and less like one.

Tony had told him that he had to feed him blood to keep him alive and it made Peter really nervous. He remembered the first time he had tasted demon blood it was like the best thing he had ever had.

It had enhanced his physique and senses. Thanks to it he was able to keep up with the monsters he was fighting. The ability to stick to walls was just a neat side effect.

He sat in his chemistry lesson as his teacher opened the locked up chemical cabinet and the smell hit him like a brick.

Peter gasped for air and put a hand over his nose squeezing his eyes shut as they watered immediately. Someone next to him whispered but he couldn’t hear it.

He grabbed his bag and rushed out of the classroom. He ran down the hall and suddenly all his senses were just over the top sharp.

The sound of his feet on the floor was so loud he had to cover his ears. The light was just too bright and he felt the terrible scratch from his clothes on his body.

He dialled Happy but the beeping made his ears ring.

He needed to get his senses down and he needed privacy.

Peter ran to the bathrooms in the gym. Luckily it was a nerd school and instead of one large shower room they had around twenty shower cabins that you could actually lock.

He rushed into one and basically ripped his clothes off his body and squatted on the floor, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his ears.

He whimpered and tried to calm down but it was hard.

After a few minutes he heard a muffled voice and he carefully lifted one of his hands slightly off his ear.

“Peter? Are you in there?”

Peter let out a quiet sob, “Tony?”

The door opened and a very concerned looking Tony looked down on him. He quickly knelt down and reached out for him but Peter shook his head and moved away so he wouldn’t touch him.

The demon frowned and pulled back, he saw his covered ears and his almost closed eyes. He sighed and whispered, “tell me what’s wrong Peter, I am here to help you.”

Peter closed his eyes again.

“I am not sure, I was in my chemistry class and suddenly everything smelled and felt wrong. My ears are ringing and everything is just too much.”

Tony nodded, “I see. Well you cannot stay here, not like this. I can get you to my place.”

Peter shook his head, “no, please don’t touch me, it will be too much.” Tony quietly cussed.

“I will have to touch you Pete, please trust me.”

Peter opened his eyes a bit to look at his demon.

“Why?”

Tony pushed his sunglasses up and Peter almost flinched at those bright eyes.

“Because I care about you Peter.”

Peter let out another quiet sob and closed his eyes again.

Tony waited for a moment before he went to pick up Peter. The poor boy was naked and cold. He would have probably freaked out but Tony used his magic to make this bearable for the boy.

Nodding to Happy who gathered Peter’s stuff he carried the boy out of the school. No one saw them because Tony didn’t want them to and so they left just as quietly as they had come.

When Peter came back to himself he was in Stark tower. He was still undressed but lying in a comfortable bed with silk sheets. Apart from his nudity Peter felt really content.

The light was pleasantly dim and the air cool and didn’t really smell so everything was right for Peter to calm down completely.

A quiet knock sounded from the door and Tony stepped inside, “hey kiddo, how are you?” Peter sat up and smiled at the demon, “a lot better, thank you Mr Stark.”

His boss smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Good to hear, now I want to hear everything. I mean I know my blood messed with you but I want to know the full extent of it.”

Peter leaned back against the headboard as he remembered the dreams he had after that weird creature had bitten him. He told Tony about the chess game, about everything he had seen and heard.

The demon listened quietly and nodded.

He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, “that doesn’t sound too good, that is why you asked if you were a knight.” Peter blushed a little, “I asked you that?”

Tony smiled, “yes you woke up and I thought it was a fever thing, but I guess that was only half true.”

Peter sighed and nodded, suddenly the demon reached out and took Peter’s arm in his hands. His touch felt almost painfully hot on his still heated skin.

Peter let out a gasp and Tony paused, “does it hurt?” The human took a few deep breaths before shaking his head, “no, it was just a bit much all of a sudden.”

Tony hummed and examined the bite Ultron had left on Peter. To his dismay the once perfectly soft and unmarked skin now had this ugly grey spot.

It would fade but it would most likely take years to clear away. Tony wished he could do something against it but this was out of his hands.

Peter looked at Tony, “who is the Mistress?”

The demon looked up surprised.

“Pardon?”

Peter gently pulled his arm away to look at the bite himself, “that little toad said that the Mistress wants me to listen, that is why he bit me.”

Tony stared at him, “I uh…have no idea. You need to get healthy again, I insist now sleep a bit more and I will check up on a few things.”

Peter knew that Tony most likely knew who that Mistress was and just didn’t want to tell him. Sadly he knew that the demon only shared information he wanted to share so there was no way in forcing him. At all.

He watched him go and shook his head as he lay down to take another nap.

Loki was watching a couple arguing in the park. It was weird watching the humans. The woman yelled at the man who supposedly cheated on her with her sister and he just stood there in stoic silence.

“And you insist that all of them deserve a chance?”

Thor chuckled, “I do. Humans are not evil or good, they are just the consequences of the coincidences that happen around them.”

Loki looked at him, “what about Hitler? Or Mussolini or be ware, Bill Gates? You really want to tell me they weren’t born to become what they are now?”

The angel smiled and sucked on the straw of the smoothie he was drinking. Loki rolled his eyes, that angel was always snacking on something.

“They were made by the world Loki, fate is one of the great lies humanity wants to believe in.”

The trickster took the drink from the angel and took a sip too.

Thor looked a bit offended by that but didn’t protest. He watched as the woman started to smack the man’s chest with her purse but the man didn’t even flinch, he just stood there and took it.

“There is only chance Loki and you know that, you had the same lessons as I did.”

The trickster nodded and threw the empty drink into a trash bin, ten feet away.

“True but you actually believe and that crap.”

Thor sighed, “Loki please, we were so close once, why did you have to leave, why did you have to forsake us all.”

The trickster turned to fully face the angel, “I wanted to see the whole picture Thor, all you knew was the holy garrison now you are here on earth with me, didn’t that blew your mind?”

The angel frowned but didn’t say anything.

“Didn’t it make you see the beauty in the simple things? I mean hell you love human food right?”

Thor slowly nodded, “yes that is true but…”

“No butts,” Loki interjected, giving the being an intense look, “being with the humans taught you humility, empathy and true kindness.”

The angel blushed a bit and Loki smirked inwardly, “Thor I can show you so much more.” He took his hand and smiled at him, “let me show you the world.”

Thor laughed, “oh are you going to sing now too?”

The trickster laughed and shook his head, “no, I don’t want to torture you.”

With a flap of a pair of mighty wings they disappeared.

Peter was well again the next day and also able to go to school again.

Of course he got so many weird looks from his classmates that he basically hid behind his books all the time. Ned wasn’t that easy to get away from though.

During study hall his friend finally cornered him, “you are acting so weird Peter, what is going on, I am sure I can help you.”

Peter just shook his head, “no you can’t.” He glanced around worried but no one really paid them any attention. He looked at his friend whose face was a mix of worry, disappointment and hurt.

“Peter we have been friends since forever, please tell me what is going on.”

Peter wanted to tell him, he wanted so badly but he didn’t want Ned to get targeted besides he would never believe him. His friend probably saw the torment on his face and sighed, “I will not judge you. Are you doing drugs?”

Peter blinked, gaped and shook his face shocked, “what no!”

The teacher gave them a look and they quickly looked down on their homework again.

This wasn’t easy for both of them and they had to find a solution. When study hall ended they got up and walked outside.

Ned was the first to talk.

“Dude I want to help you but the way it is…I just…honestly I don’t feel like we are even friends anymore.”

Peter stared at him shocked, Ned was breaking up their friendship?

“I-I am sorry man, just…you know, have a good life I guess.”

Peter looked around quickly before he grabbed his arm.

“Ned wait, I-I will tell you but you have to swear, you have to swear not to tell anyone or tell me I am crazy.”

His friend looked surprised but nodded.

Peter took him away to an empty classroom and sighed, this wouldn’t be easy to explain.

He chewed on his lip and paced around the room while Ned waited patiently for him to begin.

“Alright do you remember when we were in elementary school and my parents almost died in that accident?”

The other boy nodded, “yes that was really scary.”

Peter nodded and sighed, “yes, I…well they actually died.” Ned blinked, “dude, are you telling me your parents are actually zombies? Or…” he started to whisper, “vampires?”

Peter looked at him in bewilderment, “what no, they aren’t they are still humans, no…ah it is like this.”

He took a deep breath and told Ned everything, how his parents actually died and he grew up with his aunt and uncle, how his uncle died and his aunt got a new boyfriend. How he ran away from home and met Tony the demon.

Ned stayed quiet throughout his explanation.

He told him how Tony changed everything, how he brought his parents back and Peter got the life he had now, loving parents, a little sister and just overall a great life.

When he finished, his voice was hoarse and he had to drink some water.

Ned nodded at him, “ah so you fight monsters because he saved your parents?” Peter nodded, “basically yes. I think in the beginning he just wanted my soul or something but he changed the contract. He offered me a new deal. I fight monsters and if I manage to fight off enough of them I get to go to heaven still.”

Ned chuckled, “dude that is so awesome, you are a monster hunter and never told me? Why?” Peter gave him a bitter smile and finished his water bottle.

“Because I almost die most of the time, it is so fucking dangerous that I fear for my life all the time and don’t want anyone in danger besides me. No one knows, well no one human knows.”

The boy hummed, “I can see that. One thing I still don’t get though, why did you run away?”

Peter tensed and glanced at him, “I ah I had trouble with May’s new boyfriend.” Ned looked at him, he obviously wanted to know more than just that.

Peter sighed and went back to that old and unpleasant memory.

~~~

As soon as he opened the door he could smell the alcohol, in the air. Peter sighed and went into the small apartment. His aunt May had not taken well to the death of her husband and Greg didn’t make it any better.

The man was large, violent and stupid. A dangerous combination.

Peter didn’t know how he and his aunt hit it off but for some reason they seem to like each other.

No one was there to greet him as usually when he came back from school. He kicked off his shoes and walked into the living room where his aunt lay passed out on the couch.

She was either working or drunk these days and it was just a matter of time when she would lose her job for being too hangover or drunk to work.

Peter sighed and put his backpack in his room before going to the kitchen to search for food.

Luckily it was empty but the fridge wasn’t. He quickly pulled out everything he needed for a sandwich and devoured it right on the spot.

Greg hated it if he left a mess and cleaned up after himself but ignored the general mess around him. Everywhere in the kitchen were empty or almost empty bottles of some kind of alcohol and used plates.

He had stopped complaining after a while and just moved around his aunts and Greg’s mess. It wasn’t his business anymore.

Suddenly there was movement and he heard a cuss when someone, probably Greg, knocked over an empty bottle with his foot.

Peter spun around and ducked behind the couch when Greg walked into the room. He had probably been in the bathroom and was whipping his wet hands on his, not so clean, shirt.

The boy made a face and snuck around to keep out of Greg’s line of sight. He just wanted to go to his room and lock himself in for the night.

He was almost at the door when a strong hand grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him up. Peter let out a shout of surprise and was immediately rewarded with a harsh slap across the face.

“You little freak, where do you think you are going?”

Peter gasped and held his cheek, staring at Greg with wide, fearful eyes. The man had bloodshot eyes and the worst breath in history.

“I wanted to go to sleep, let me go!”

The man scoffed and grabbed the front of his shirt to pull him up.

“You little shit I didn’t give you permission, did I? You always come here, eat our food and waste out resources and never get us anything in return. You are a useless waste of space!”

Peter tried to pry his fingers off his shirt but the man was surprisingly strong when drunk and or angry. Another slap hit his face and he gasped loudly. It really stung and he felt tears come to his eyes.

“I am just a kid what am I supposed to do?”

“Get a fucking job like the rest of us!”

Peter flinched as he was screamed at, Greg was really angry for some reason.

“I am too young to work, please let me go I need to study.”

Greg let go, but only to punch him hard in the stomach. Peter fell to the floor like a stone and lay there, groaning in pain.

He couldn’t move and Greg wasn’t done with him. The man pulled up his head by grabbing a fistful of hair. He had his stupid smirk on his lips and Peter wished he could spit in his face.

“You are pathetic. Why didn’t you die with your parents? Wouldn’t have made much of a difference for anyone.”

Peter had enough, he was on his knees and in pain but he couldn’t take that man’s abuse anymore. He let out a shout and punched him hard in the dick.

Greg gasped before letting him go and stumbling back. He screamed in pain and Peter was able to put on some shoes and hurry out of the apartment.

Angry screams followed him as he rushed down the stairs and away from the building. Peter just ran, not looking back.

The night was cold and he didn’t have a jacket with him so he wrapped his arms around himself as he stopped running to catch his breath before he just walked down the sidewalk.

He didn’t know where he was going, his mind was circling around what just happened and tears ran from his eyes. He just couldn’t believe it.

Peter loved May with all his heart but she was sick, just like Greg. They would destroy each other and he was in the way of that. It hurt even more than the punch he had taken.

Peter didn’t look where he was going, he just followed the road and after what felt hours of walking he seemed to leave Queens behind and walked down an empty road.

It was so quiet his breath sounded so loud in his ears.

He walked until suddenly he heard an engine roar up behind him and as he turned a bright light almost blinded him.

Peter let out a deep breath and looked at his friend who gaped at him.

“And that is how I met Tony Stark, of course back then I didn’t recognize him or cared who he was. I wasn’t in the state of mind to care.”

His friend looked at him with amazement, “really? So now your parents and uncle are alive? Can he make a deal with me too, I want superpowers too.”

Peter gave his friend a dry look, “Ned this isn’t fun and I don’t have superpowers. Even if I had, it comes with a price.”

Ned nodded quickly, “yes, yes, now tell me, what monsters did you fight already? A werewolf? Vampire, please tell me you fought a vampire that would be so awesome.”

Peter couldn’t help but laugh at his friend’s enthusiasm. He knew it was a bad idea to confine him in but it also felt good having a friend in this.

Tony rarely visited hell anymore. After all he tried to get as far away from that place as possible.

He looked around with disgust.

The part of hell he was in looked grey.

There was no other way to describe it, because all there was, was grey.

The ground and the dead landscape was covered in thick grey ashes that constantly snowed down from the blackness one could call sky.

In the distance he could see dark figures move around, they let out moans and groans of despair and pain. The souls of the dammed were not good company on the best of days, on the worst they were fairly annoying.

There were millions down here and always would be, because even when they had finally suffered enough and left this world entirely, new souls had filled their places ten times over.

He passed them and walked up to a small cabin. He didn’t knock, he just opened the door and stepped inside.

“Don’t bring any ashes inside dear.”

The demon rolled his eyes and with a flick of his wrist all dirt was gone from his clothes and hair. He closed the door and walked towards two large armchairs that sat in front of a nice fire.

All in all it just looked like a normal sweet little cabin but Tony didn’t like it here, he never did.

He walked around the empty chair and took off his glasses to look at the occupant of the other one.

“Ah Tony nice to see you again, what brings you here?”

He gave her a cold look, “you know that very well, Pepper.”

The red haired demon smiled at him as she gently petted an Ultron that was snoring in her lap.

“Oh do I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright the next chapter is already in the working I hope it will be longer than this one.   
> I still hope you enjoyed it so stay tuned. 
> 
> Leave your thoughts and comments below.   
> Thanks for reading


	7. Play out a spell in your sequence of chords

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter for you guys I hope you enjoy it and captured some of the Supernatural spirit.

Pepper had always disliked the humans, even when she had been an Angel she had despised them. Humans were miserable, filthy little beings that did not deserve any mercy.

When the great one had fallen she had followed him immediately and she never regretted it. Now Tony was different, he had never been evil nor good, he was more like chaotic neutral, trying to be lawful good, while she was more lawful evil.

More or less.

Pepper had always had her own way of doing things but always fuelled by the desire to serve the great one. That was why she made Tony fall with her.

The two of them had been friends, then lovers and finally enemies. The perfect way a relationship should develop in her opinion.

Tony had been useful, he was crafty, smart, confident and rather charismatic if he wanted to be. She had used him for her own gain for almost a millennia before he had realized his true purpose to her.

Her little demon had fled hell after that to live among the humans trying to be one of them. Disgusting. Sometimes Pepper wondered if Tony really was as smart as she thought him to be.

She walked slowly down her path, her heels clicking on the stone under her as she laid eyes on her target.

Loki was truly a being of chaos. He didn’t care for sides, he was his own true king. She liked that about the trickster.

Loki was still an angel since he had never fallen but he had left heaven when it got too boring for him. He was a thorn in Odin’s and basically everyone’s side but Pepper was sure she could use the angel for her own purposes.

Loki sat on the edge of a building, his feet dangling down as he watched the humans and cars moving beneath him. Pepper smiled as she walked up to him but before she could say anything the trickster spoke.

“I don’t take kindly to being spied on woman.”

Pepper pressed her lips together and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She wore a grey suit that was perfectly tailored to hug her figure and make her look professional.

Loki was dressed in a pair of black leather pants, boots and a green tunic, he obviously underdressed for her.

“I am the Mistress, Trickster and I came to have a chat with you.”

Loki waved his hand dismissively into her general direction.

“I have no interest in talking to creatures like you, be gone.”

Pepper exhaled and smiled, she pulled out a long slightly curved dagger from nowhere. It was dark as the deepest pit of hell and ancient courses were engraved on the blade, they shone blood red.

Loki frowned and glanced over his shoulder, his green eyes shining with a mix of curiosity and surprise, “do you really think you can kill me?” The demon smiled an unsettling smile, “oh no, I don’t think that at all. I know I can.”

Tony put his queen down, “check mate, how do you feel?”

Peter huffed and flicked his king over, “I lost seven times in a row, what do you think?” The demon chuckled and looked at his human, “sorry, but you are not paying attention.”

Peter leaned back in his comfortable chair and stretched out, “I am, I…my mind is just busy with other things at the moment.”

The demon gave Peter a cheeky grin, “oh is it your girlfriend? Did she let you touch her in places that scare every parent?”

Peter turned bright red and stared at the demon, “no! A-And even if we did stuff like that it wouldn’t be any of your business.”

Gods the boy was so embarrassed Tony was almost sure he could fry an egg on his cheeks as hot as they looked.

Tony hummed rather amused by his reaction, “I see. Would you like to have a case to get back in the game?”

Peter’s features lit up immediately though the redness stayed for now, “oh yes, please I need that.” Tony smiled and stood to get the file. Peter already pulled his tablet out from his backpack and fired it up.

He was so eager to prove to himself that he could handle this.

Tony was worried about that but even after all that happened, Peter was just a teen and he wanted to do teen things. He would never understand.

He handed the file to Peter and sat down, putting the chessboard and figures away. Peter eagerly flicked through the pages but his smile went down quickly, “ghost? You are sending me to hunt a ghost?”

Tony looked at him, “no, it used to be a ghost, now it is more than that. It can take physical form and hurts people. It is dangerous and needs to be taken care of.”

He leaned back, suddenly having a glass of scotch in his hand.

“Or do you think you are not ready, after all?”

Peter shot him a glare that made him look like an angry kitten. Tony almost couldn’t handle the cute.

“Of course I am ready, I can do this. It just looks…like a job for an intern.”

He pouted a bit and Tony snorted into his drink, causing Peter to shoot him another glare. The boy looked up to into the familiar pair of yellow eyes.

They sparkled with amusement and it really annoyed him, but they also filled him with some sort of comfort. Peter never truly liked the demon, they had a contract, a working relationship, but in the last few weeks he couldn’t fight the feeling that they had gotten closer to each other.

He wasn’t sure if he liked that yet.

Peter sighed and looked through the folder, ignoring Tony for now. He had work to do.

“Karen?”

“Yes Peter, welcome back.”

“Thank you, please tell me all you know about a man named Malekit.”

Tony never had watched Peter work. He knew the kid had a sharp mind but he rarely got to witness it. He watched as Peter asked the right questions to his AI to get the answers he wanted.

He pulled up reports and pictures studying each piece of evidence closely before moving on to the next. He was so careful and throughout that Tony wasn’t surprised that his success rate was so high.

It was delightful to watch and he smiled while Peter was working. He knew it was technically only a bet that made him want to get his hands on the boy but he did start to feel more for him.

Tony sipped his expensive drink and watched the boy, no matter what Peter claimed, he was made for this. It was his world as much as Tony’s.

A sudden question brought the demon back and he blinked at Peter, “pardon?”

Peter had an eyebrow raised, “I asked if I can take Happy, I want to go to the site while the sun is still up.” Tony waved his hand, “sure, fly away little butterfly.”

Peter rolled his eyes and stood, “well see you when this is over.”

Tony nodded and watched him go, “yes, be careful Peter.” The boy didn’t reply he just gave him the thumbs up over his shoulder and left.

Tony smiled and finished his drink.

The site wasn’t as spectacular as Peter hoped. He had hoped for an old mansion or an abandoned asylum instead he looked at…

“A toy store?”

He turned and looked at Happy who shrugged and rolled up the window of the car.

Peter groaned and turned around, “this place isn’t even abandoned.” He shook his head and walked into the rather busy store.

The shelves were high and filled with stuffed animals, dolls and toy cars. There was everything a child could want and even a small play area with a ball pool.

“Are you kidding me? Where was this place when I was a kid?”

He shook his head and slowly browsed the aisle wondering if this was just a joke Tony had set up for him.

“Peter?”

The boy quickly turned around to blink in surprise when he spotted Liz who smiled at him but he could also see the concern in her eyes.

“Liz oh hi I…I am glad to see you.”

He hugged her and she hugged him back, tighter than he expected though. The girl looked at him with worry, “are you alright? You have been missing a lot of school lately and I missed you, you didn’t call.

Yes because he completely forgot.

He looked down his cheeks blushing, “I am sorry I-I was bitten by a snake and didn’t want to bother you with my whiny self.” He looked at her smiling sheepishly.

The girl sighed and cupped his cheek, placing a kiss on his lips. It felt nice and Peter smiled at her, “I am sorry Liz, let me make it up to you.”

The girl chuckled and nodded, “you better do.” She turned as her mother called for her.

“I need to leave now, but please call me tonight.”

Peter nodded eagerly and she left. He watched her go with a dreamy expression and only remembered his task when a small toy fell from the shelf above and landed on his head.

With a frown he looked around, spotting the toy, it was some sort of wooden car. He shook his head and put it back up the shelf.

As he reached up something cold and kind of damp grabbed his hand and he froze. Slowly a face, he couldn’t see any features only big round eyes, stared at him.

It opened its mouth revealing a set of blood red teeth.

Peter gasped and jumped back almost hitting the shelf behind him. A worker looked at him confused, “are you alright?”

Peter blinked and looked at her, “uh y-yeah I just thought I saw a spider.” She made a face and he chuckled before walking away.

So this place really was haunted and even during the day. That was rare and strange but he guessed if the ghost was strong or rather angry enough everything was possible.

He lurked around a bit more but the ghost didn’t appear again so, since he got some weird looks from the workers, he bought a stuffed animal for his sister and left.

Happy drove him home and Peter happily babysat his sister as he did some more research on his tablet. His parents were gone for date night and it was almost nine pm when his doorbell rang.

Peter immediately tensed, “Karen, show me the front door camera.” Since apparently all the monsters could just walk into his home Tony had helped to set up some proper security around the house.

The footage was pulled up and to his surprise Peter saw no other than Ned standing there. He shifted a little because of the cold and Peter quickly got up and ran to the front door, opening it.

“Ned, what are you doing here?”

His friend gave him a big smile, “I am here to see you. Are you working on a case?” Peter looked at him dumbfounded.

“Uh…yes I am actually.”

“Awesome!”

The boy rushed inside and Peter was left, blinking confused out of the door. He quickly shut it and went into the living room where Ned was making faces at little Teresa before sitting down on the couch.

Peter joined him and told him about the case, Ned was immediately fascinated and asked all sorts of questions.

“So was someone murdered at that store? I mean that is how places become haunted right?”

Peter nodded, “yes but sometimes people die and they have a grudge against a certain person and can haunt them too. So maybe someone is working there that is personally haunted.”

Ned nodded, “that would be creepy right?”

Peter looked at his tablet, “yes but also rare, I asked the employees about the store and they told me an old man had been living in a house on that property. He was a nice man who liked to make toys and gave them to children for free if they helped him around the house. Later his children sold the house and someone opened a toy store in it, a few years ago the house was torn down and a proper shop was built.”

Ned looked at him in awe, “maybe that was what set the spirit off. They tore down his home and he came back to punish people.”

Peter sighed, “Ned, no one is punishing anyone. I went there because Tony told me that place is haunted, but apparently the ghost didn’t harm anyone yet. I have no idea how to solve this because I don’t really know where to start and I don’t know who the ghost is. The one I saw had no features, as if the face had been torn off.”

The other boy shuddered and looked at Teresa, “uh should we talk about that in front of her?” Peter looked at his sister, “it is no problem, she never seems to mind.”

Ned still looked a bit concerned, Peter’s sister was two years old and he wondered about her sometimes. Peter looked at his tablet and read his own notes again.

“I know what Tony is doing, he is giving me a case that will take forever to solve so I cannot take another job.”

He shook his head, “it is so like him to hold me back.” Ned stared at him, “dude you sound just like whiny Anakin.” His friend spoke in a high pitched voice, “that stupid council won’t grand me the rank of a Master, they are so stupid and holding me back so I am crying to my secret wifey.”

Peter looked at him unimpressed, “which would be you then?”

Ned laughed and even Peter cracked a smile.

They went over the facts again and again but the result didn’t change.

They just didn’t have one.

Peter groaned and looked at his phone when he realized something, “oh shit, I forgot about Liz!”

His sister looked up from the toys she was playing with and laughed as did Ned.

“Dude why do you even have a girlfriend if you forget about her all the time?”

Peter frantically snapped a picture of his sister with her new toy and sent it to Liz, hoping she wasn’t too mad at him. He of course got no response and groaned again.

“I messed up man.”

Ned chuckled and looked at Teresa, “never date a guy like your brother, he is a bad influence.” The girl looked at him and smiled.

Peter sighed and went to grab his backpack.

He put some of the gear into it and looked at Ned, “I am going to that store, the only reason why this ghost hasn’t attacked yet is probably because no one is there at night.”

Ned looked alarmed, “but what about your sister? We cannot just leave her.” Peter smiled, “yes that is why you are staying.”

His friend looked confused before a big grin broke out on his face, “I am the guy in the chair!” Peter blinked, “more like on the couch but whatever works for you buddy.”

Before Peter headed out Ned took Teresa to Peter’s room and set himself up on Peter’s computer. They would work together on this case and Ned was looking forward to it.

Peter wasn’t too keen about this but he had to hurry. He didn’t call Happy to take him to the shop; he actually rode on top of a truck into the city and then ran to the store.

He was faster than he had ever been before and his endurance and agility were heightened too. It was great and terrifying at the same time.

Of course the store was closed once he arrived there, he looked around but the street was still too occupied for him to break in through the front. He looked around and went into a small alley to hopefully get to the back of the store.

After a few minutes of searching he found it and pulled out his tablet from his backpack. He pulled out a thin cable and plucked it into a socket on the electronic lock that kept the door shut.

“Karen, disable please.”

After a few minutes a quiet ping, sounded from his tablet and he could hear the bolts that kept the door locked pull back.

Peter smiled and opened the door.

He looked around and found that there were some security cameras that were easy enough to disable for Karen too. Once that was taken care of he went to look around in the back.

He ignored the safe and everything money related but looked at the pictures, news articles and the likes that decorated the walls.

A ghost was only ever bound to something personal, something that it had strong connection to. He glanced around as he carefully walked around the employee area.

There was nothing of significance so he went down a staircase he found. It wasn’t as new as the store for some reason and the stairs were made out of wood.

Maybe they had just rebuilt the top part of the house but that seemed rather stupid to him.

Peter walked down the creaky stairs, pulling out a flashlight but it wasn’t working. He hit it a few times on the back before it finally came on which was really weird. It was an LED flashlight.

He shook his head and froze when he finally saw something.

The basement looked old, like, too old. There was wood and dirt everywhere and chains hanging from the ceiling. On a few of these chains were hooks and on those hooks hung bodies.

Terrible tortured and barely recognizable bodies.

One was missing an arm and the other had no legs.

Peter put a hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t scream, this was horrible. He spun around to run upstairs again but a large fist collided with his face and threw him down the last few stairs until he hit the cold and slightly damp floor, hard.

He groaned and screamed when his flashlight rolled away and he was completely cloaked into darkness. Heavy steps sounded through the room moving closer and closer towards Peter and two eyes, red and full of hatred glowed in the dark.

He screamed again as his phone rang.

Gasping for breath Peter blinked a few times. He looked around and realized he was inside an ordinary basement. His flashlight was lying next to him and he grabbed it so he could look around better.

After calming down a bit he pulled out his phone, “Ned I think you just saved my life.” He got up and looked around concrete room but there was nothing there except for a few boxes of store product.

“Dude, are you alright? I have tried calling you for almost an hour, but it didn’t go through.”

Peter took another deep breath and walked upstairs, “yeah ghosts do that sometimes.” He was really shaken by this.

“What happened?”

Peter gave him a short summary and quickly closed the door to the basement, leaning against it. His heart was still racing in his chest.

Ned still sounded excited, “so something did happen in there, I knew it! Do you think that nice old man was just pretending to be a toymaker to kill? Like, dude, like creepy version of Santa Claus!”

Peter managed a chuckle, “Ned for me every version of Santa Claus is creepy. I mean it is supposed to be some old dude who has an army of enslaved elves, watches you somehow all ear and then breaks into your home without leaving a real trace. Tell me that this is not creepy to you.”

The other boy laughed and it really helped him to calm down further. He walked into the front of the store, turning off the flashlight so he wouldn’t draw attention to himself.

He glanced around the shelves but the ghost didn’t seem to come out again, so he went back into the back and sat down at a table.

“Ned I still don’t know what I am searching for, clearly people died in here but I don’t know if one of the victims is haunting this place or the person who did this to them.”

His friend hummed, “well if we say what they told us is right, then there was an old man living there. An old man could not possibly kill adults, right? So he would have to kill children or have help to do it.”

Peter nodded and shot up as he heard steps again.

“Someone is here, I will call you back.”

Ned tried to interject but wasn’t able to. Peter hung up and rushed to hide under the table he had been sitting at. He frowned and listened as the steps came closer to him.

They weren’t as heavy as the ones before so he was sure it wasn’t the ghost again.

“I know you are here Parker, I am not your enemy I am a friend of Tony.”

Peter didn’t take the bait and waited. A pair of shiny black boots stopped at the table and a tall man squatted down to look at him.

Loki smiled, his white teeth and blue eyes shining in the dark.

“Gotcha.”

Tony scrolled through his phone when an alarm popped up. He raised an eyebrow as he opened the message and read it.

“Jarvis?”

“Yes Sir?”

“Did Peter seriously just leave his house in the middle of the night, expecting me to not notice?”

“Well he definitely left, but I can hardly assume what he expected of this action.”

Tony rolled his eyes, “you know…ah nevermind.” He got up and rubbed his eyes, “can you find out where he went?”

The AI answered in a slightly annoyed tone, “of course I can.”

Tony waited for almost thirty seconds, “will you do so then?”

The AI was silent for almost a minute, “Mr Parker apparently went to work on the case you assigned him. He has made his way into the city and to the toy store. Should I call him to head back home?”

Tony hummed, “no and how come you get to be insulted.” The AI didn’t answer and Tony didn’t ask again.

He frowned a bit, “why didn’t he call Happy, he would have taken him there without asking. Peter knows that.”

“Maybe he didn’t want you to know.”

The demon nodded, “probably.”

He stood and put his sunglasses on, “call Happy, I will pay that brat a visit.”

Peter studied Loki warily. He wasn’t sure what to think of the tall man, he was definitely not human but he couldn’t pinpoint what he was.

“Stop staring at me Parker, it makes me want to twist your neck into unnatural positions.”

Peter tensed and quickly averted his gaze.

Loki laughed and shook his head flicking the bud of his cigarette away. The human amused him.

“Hey I was joking, only joking.”

He lit a new cigarette and pointed at the shop. They were in that alley that led to the back and waiting for something.

Peter wasn’t sure for what.

“So what is going on in there? Did Tony send you to do his messy work for him, again?”

Peter sighed and turned to leave, “I don’t know who you are and just because you say you are a friend of Tony doesn’t make me trust you.”

Loki rolled his eyes, “Parker wait, I know who you are and what you are doing for Tony, in fact I even know why you are doing it or rather why Tony needs you to do it.”

Peter stopped and turned to look at the man, “who are you?” Loki smiled at him, “well may I introduce myself? I am Loki, the trickster.”

Peter narrowed his eyes at him, “and why should I believe anything you say? Trickster isn’t a really good title for gaining trust.”

Loki laughed and nodded, “well true that but you are a curious one, even if you don’t believe me you will listen and you will ask questions. Am I right?”

Peter looked into those blue eyes, they were rather unsettling, but he nodded, “you are.” The trickster smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, “I have a feeling this will be a lot of fun.”

“Take your hands off him Loki.”

Both Peter and Loki turned to where the voice came from.

At the end of the alley Tony stood, both hands in his pockets and his eyes glowing in the dark. For the first time since Peter knew the demon he found that glow not scary but rather welcome.

“Tony, what are you doing here?”

The demon looked at him with a stern expression, “I am saving your ungrateful little ass, come here.” Peter sighed, “I can handle a stupid ghost Tony! Stop acting as if I am a weak, little child!”

The grip on his shoulder tightened and Loki leaned down to whisper into his ear.

“He isn’t talking about the ghost, boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that is it for this chapter folks I hope you are looking forward to the next.   
> Wish me luck that I will get rid of that stupid cold that always comes for me at the end of the year.  
> For everyone who suffers like me stay strong the annoyance can't last forever.


	8. To inspire and sharpen our rusted swords

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter, a bit of action and the plot thickens

A sharp pain shot through Peter’s back and a gasp escaped his lips. With wide eyes he looked at the Trickster, his blue eyes shining with madness as he smiled down at the human.

Peter didn’t hear Tony cry out as he was stabbed as did he not feel how his face collided with the ground as he was let go. He was deaf and cold and time seemed to not pass at all.

Tony let out an inhuman scream as he jumped at Loki. The Trickster laughed and seemed not to care as he was hit in the chest so hard he was flung backwards and into a brick wall, leaving a sizable dent in it.

Tony threw his glasses away as well as his suit jacket. He glanced down at Peter who was still breathing, the knife still in his back.

Good.

He snarled at Loki, his golden eyes glowing in the dark.

“You can try to sabotage me Loki, you can try to cheat on our bet but you will not harm Peter!”

Loki got up, brushing a bit of dust off his coat, still smiling, “uh just in case you did not notice, I already did.”

The demon snapped completely but the Trickster was ready. They clashed in mid-air and fought like beasts, growling hissing and scratching one another.

Tony punched Loki hard in the jaw while Loki kicked him in the guts. The demon grabbed a fistful of black hair and flung his opponent around like a doll before slamming him in the ground.

He let out a triumphant laugh until Loki turned and punched him in the dick.

Meanwhile Happy got out of the car and went to pick up Peter.

He grumbled a bit but if he said anything it wasn’t in a language Peter spoke. The boy let out a whimper.

“Please, pull it out, it hurts.”

“No,” the man replied as he carefully put the boy down in the car. He put him on the floor so he would not roll around and get hurt even more.

Peter let out a quiet sob, “please Happy, pull it out.” The demon got behind the wheel and started the car.

“Important rule for first aid, never pull out if you have been stabbed.”

Peter closed his eyes and tried to take deep breaths.

“Where is Tony?”

“Fighting. For you.”

Peter couldn’t help but smile a bit, “I hope he kicks that guy’s ass.”

Happy hummed but didn’t speak, he just drove him to the morgue since it was closer than the tower. He carried him inside and Strange clicked his tongue obviously not pleased by the half-dead teenager.

“Put him on the table.”

Peter hissed as he felt the cool metal on his skin.

Tony was panting, holding his side as Loki licked his bloody fingers. The Trickster wasn’t himself but Tony was unable to bring his old friend back.

“Snap out of it birdbrain!”

Loki smiled at him, “snap out of what? I used to be just a stupid angel, pretending to be a trickster, now I am so much more.” He laughed, “now I am a god!”

Tony looked at him unimpressed and straightened up again, his wound where Loki had stabbed him with his fingers was healed and he was annoyed and angry.

“You just didn’t say that, oh man you don’t give me much of a chance.”

He shook his head and pulled out his phone, “hang on a minute, will you?” He dialled a number and waited.

Loki frowned, “wait what? Anthony we are fighting and you just chose to call someone? Are you serious? W-What am I supposed to do now? Stand around and watch you? I mean is this like the villains that watch the heroes transform before they attack?”

Tony held up a finger, “just a minute.”

He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe him and sighed, “ah finally you picked up, get your feathery ass here or I swear I will shave that stupid beard of yours.”

Loki tilted his head, “feathery ass? Who are you talking to?”

Tony smirked at him, “yep, got my location? Yes ah it is only your boyfriend going crazy.” Loki blinked at him, “boyfriend? Who the hell are you talking to?”

Tony hung up and smiled at him, “just give it a second.”

Loki looked at him before he sighed and shook his head, “Anthony you are a stupid little…what the fuck?”

Suddenly a pillar of light came down and electricity crackled in the air as Thor in all his angelic grace and might landed on the roof where they had been fighting on.

The angel brushed his hair back and studied Tony before focusing on the trickster. He narrowed his eyes and growled, “Loki!”

Tony laughed when he saw Loki jump from that and saluted that poor soul before jumping down the roof. He could hear Thor growl a bit more before he disappeared into the night.

He wished he could stay and watch but he had more important things to do.

Strange was stitching up Peter’s back as Tony walked into the room.

His face was worried and he rushed to the teen’s side, “how is he Strange? Will be alright?” The doctor rolled his eyes, “of course he will, don’t make a fuss he just calmed down.”

Peter chuckled, “you mean you knocked me out with drugs.” His words were slurred as if he was drunk. Tony had to chuckle at that.

Strange cut the thread and stepped back to grab some gauze to cover the wound. He shrugged, “same thing to me.” Peter chuckled again, “damn you would be such a cool uncle.”

Tony shook his head, just glad that Peter was better. He ruffled his hair a bit before looking at Strange, “how bad is his injury, doc?”

The doctor pulled Peter’s shirt down and turned away from the table to throw his gloves into the trashcan. As usually he was in no hurry to answer his question and it almost made Tony angry enough to jump at him.

“Well luckily your lackey didn’t pull the knife out, so he didn’t lose too much blood.”

He sat down and took a sip from his cup of tea. He made a face and quickly put it down again.

“The knife did some damage but when I started to examine him he was already healing the internal damage, all I did was drug him and sew him up. He heals quite fast, did you change him?”

Tony knitted his eyebrows together at that. He turned back to Peter and put a hand on his cheek. The boy had nodded off and didn’t notice it, if he had, he would probably protest.

“I didn’t, I had to feed him blood to keep him alive after an Ultron bit him, but I hardly gave him enough to change him.”

Strange hummed and finished typing in the document he was preparing. Normally it was Bruce who would take care of Peter so he sent him an email, detailing what he had done and given to the boy.

He smiled as he turned around to face the demon, “well hardly enough isn’t a quantity I can work with Stark, but my guess is you did give him enough to make some permanent changes. The boy is most likely a mutant now, great job.”

Tony looked at him unimpressed, “it was either that or he death, so you say I should have let him die?” Strange nodded, “yes, you don’t owe him anything right? He works for you so why keep the weak around? Doesn’t make much sense to me.”

The demon took off his sunglasses who now had a crack in the left glass and looked at the Doctor, his yellow gaze was piercing and it almost made Strange hiss.

“Even after all this time that you pretend to be human you are still so far away from being one.”

Strange glared at Tony, “I am human, don’t you dare to imply something else!” The demon chuckled, “did you ever tell Peter? How you lost your job? Why you cannot work around living blood anymore?”

He smirked at Strange, “I bet you told him the same lie you tell everyone, an accident right? You tell them that.”

Strange growled, it was when he felt enough rage that he showed his nature. His fingers grew longer until they were like claws and his teeth grew too.

A deep growl came from his throat, “I am human Stark!”

Tony chuckled, “said the werewolf before he attacked.” That made Strange jump at him. Happy who was standing in the back of the room didn’t even flinch when the doctor picked up Tony and threw him against the wall to pin the demon there, he just picked up Peter and got him into the car.

Tony laughed, “you are a monster just like all the others Strange, don’t lie to yourself. You lost your humanity when you were bitten.”

Strange growled but managed to slowly step backwards and let go of Tony, “no, I am not a monster, I never…I never ate living blood.”

Tony smiled and studied him as Strange slowly reverted back into his more human self.

The thing about werewolves is, that once a victim is bitten it is infected with a virus that mutates them into a creature of pure hate, driven by an insatiable hunger for human flesh and blood.

This is a disease that is not curable by human methods and most demons also don’t know how to help the poor victim, but a fact only few people know is, that the mutation has to be set in motion.

Like any other virus it doesn’t do much until it is activated. A person like Strange might be able to ignore that hunger to remain human, or almost human until the hunger gets too strong and they eventually attack and kill someone.

Strange had worked as a surgeon when he was bitten and it had been one of Tony’s humans that had found him and told him about that.

Tony had agreed to employ Strange at the morgue to keep him out of trouble. Here he took a bite out of dead flesh and insides when his hunger grew too strong. It doesn’t activate the virus but it also did little help to keep his remaining humanity intact.

Strange moved back to his chair and took a few deep breaths to calm down. He glanced at Tony and his red eyes slowly turned back to their normal colour, “you should go.”

The demon picked up his sunglasses that had fallen to the floor and put them on his nose, “sure, till next time.” He walked out of the room, feeling a tiny bit sorry he had brought the doctor to his limit.

Thor looked at Loki who looked not exactly scared but rather worried.

He eyed the angel before summoning a long, golden spear into his hand. Thor narrowed his eyes and in his hand appeared a sword seemingly made out of light, it was so bright that one could turn blind just looking at it.

The weapon didn’t seem to have a solid form but instead kept steadily moving around. The trickster looked at his weapon and smirked, but there wasn’t much of his usual cockiness in it.

“Oh so we will finally find out what is more powerful, the mighty spear of Odin or your fiery sword.”

Thor smiled, “we might, but I have to tell you it is more like lighting than fire nowadays.”

Loki didn’t seem to care and jumped up trying to hit Thor with his spear but he simply stepped aside kicking the trickster in the middle and right off the roof.

However, Loki didn’t fall, he stood and glared at him. Thor blinked a bit confused, “you know there is this thing called Anime, human teenagers are especially enthralled with it and you just look like one of the characters and since when can you levitate like this?”

Loki smiled at him, “I cannot, but there is a reason why I am the skywalker right?” Thor slowly nodded, “right.” He didn’t understand but he didn’t have to either. He pointed his weapon at him and within a split second they clashed again.

From the distance people could see lighting light up the sky in a weird and unusual pattern as the two deities fought. It was a spectacle that made the ground shake and the air crackle.

Thor tried to dislodge Loki’s grip on the spear but the other angel was swift in his movements and a very skilled fighter. He managed to evade most of his attacks or block them with ease.

Thor gritted his teeth as they clashed again, “Loki! Come to your senses I don’t want to hurt you, I still care for you. Please let me help you!”

The trickster snorted, “you care for me? Oh Thor you fool, we are angels, we don’t give a fuck, remember?” Thor sighed and shook his head, “no Loki, I don’t.”

With a lot of regret he lifted his weapon into the air, it was time for a final attack. 

Tony watched as his car passed them by and he hoped Thor could put an end to the trickster’s madness, Loki was a good guy and he didn’t deserve to be under someone’s control or manipulated by them.

He watched as a huge lighting blast came down and the fighting stopped.

Thor panted a bit as he looked at the fallen trickster. Loki wasn’t dead, Thor would never do that to him, he couldn’t but he knocked him right off his feet and he really hoped that would do the trick.

His sword disappeared and he picked the trickster up and threw him over his shoulder, they had to find out what was wrong with him. He was about to unfold his wings and return home but he paused, thinking.

He couldn’t take Loki to heaven, not like this, after all some of what the trickster always ranted about was true. Odin would throw him in jail if he wasn’t in a killing mood.

Thor sighed and turned to look at the horizon where the sun was coming up blood red. Another bad omen.

Peter woke up with a weird itch in his back and a slight headache. To his surprise he wasn’t in Stark Tower this time but in his own bedroom.

The drapes were pulled close and the house was quiet, if he listened closely enough he could hear his parents breathing in their sleep.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, letting out a breath.

“Already awake?”

Peter flinched badly and his eyes widened as he saw the demon at the end of his bed.

“M-Mr Stark!”

Tony was sitting in his office chair and staring at Peter with his intense yellow gaze, “the one and only. Peter, please explain to me what the FUCK you thought you were doing?”

Peter winced at his tone and looked down on his hands.

“I was trying to solve the case, I think I got a lead, I found a few hints and even had a run in with the ghost.”

“Are you stupid?” Tony cut in, his voice cold and unforgiving. Peter swallowed and twisted his sheets in his hands.

“There is no ghost, it was Loki, he planted the case with me so you would go there.”

Peter looked at him sheepishly, “oh, so it wasn’t my fault.”

Tony gave him a look, “you were still so stupid! Didn’t you notice how there were no clear signs of ghost activity? There was no cold, no weird flickering lights? How could you have missed that?”

Peter winced a little, Tony wasn’t wrong he could have been a little smarter about the whole thing.

He sighed, “I was just so happy to go back to action that I just forgot about it I guess. I am sorry.”

Tony growled and stood up to stalk over to him. In moments like these Peter got aware just how dangerous Tony was.

He moved back on his bed and swallowed but Tony grabbed the front of his shirt to pull him up to face him.

“I don’t care how sorry you are, you could have died, how can you always care so little about your own life? You literally sold your soul to have it, why are you constantly trying to throw it back in my face?”

He was furious at the teen and Peter looked so sheepish and uncomfortable, but that wasn’t making things better. He really cared about the boy and didn’t want to lose him.

They shared a long look before Peter sighed, “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to get into trouble again.”

The demon snarled and Peter moved away as soon as he let go. This was rather unusual. When he had started working for Tony he had always made sure that Peter knew that he was expandable.

That if he died, there were many other humans who would willingly and readily take his place. Peter had always felt bad at that, like he and his life didn’t matter at all but he had realized that it didn’t matter to the demon but to other people it did.

Now Tony acted as if he cared.

“Tony, can I make it up?”

The demon was rubbing his eyes and turned to him with a slightly confused expression, “what did you say?” Peter shrugged and played with the hem of his shirt.

“Let me make it up to you, I know I have been stupid and you are right I shouldn’t have done this. I have a lot to lose.”

Tony slowly walked up to him again.

“Damn well you have.”

Peter looked up at him, “then let me make it up, I will do what you want. You can give me a case and I will work it for free.”

Tony snorted, “giving you a case would only reward you. I will not do that.” The demon sat down on the edge of the bed and let out a deep breath, “Peter you don’t know what is going on out there, we don’t have much time anymore. Pepper is loose and she is not here to make friends.”

Peter frowned, “Pepper? What kind of monster is that?” Tony chuckled, “the worst of them all, a scorned, angry woman who hates me.” Peter raised an eyebrow but kept his mouth shut this time.

Tony looked at him, “you know nothing, just like the rest of your kind. It is almost funny.”

Peter shifted and went to sit next to Tony, “then tell me, I am sick of being left in the dark, I am not just some stupid monster hunter for you am I? Tell me and I can help you better.”

Tony looked at the human, he had this determination in his eyes and he liked that, but he knew if he decided to pull him into this he would die.

“I will think about it Peter, now excuse me, I need to go and do some work.”

He stood and ruffled Peter’s hair which earned him a groan from the boy.

He chuckled and walked out of the room.

Tony arrived in his tower and as he walked into the penthouse he grabbed a drink and sighed.

“Is he dead?”

Thor stood next to the couch where the Trickster laid spread out. His long legs were thrown over the armrest of the couch and for some reason Thor had taken off his boots and socks.

The angel shook his head, “no, I shocked him with my lighting and he will be out for a while, but he is not dead.” Tony nodded, “good, come on I have a spare room where we can take care of him.”

He motioned Thor to come with him and they brought Loki into a spare bedroom where they put him on the bed and Thor undressed him even further.

Tony stood by the door watching a bit awkwardly.

“Are you going to have sex with him?”

The angel’s head spun around so fast Tony was sure he heard his spine snap.

“W-What?”

“Are you going to have sex with him? The way you are undressing him is well…am I misinterpreting things here?”

The angel gaped at him, “I wanted to make things more comfortable for him! And ah and I need to check him for wounds.”

Tony shrugged, “sure, whatever lets you sleep at night pervy angel.”

Thor stared at him before he blushed, “you are the pervert here demon, now help me.” Tony shook his head, “no way, I am not touching that crazy bag of cats, you know we did it once and he almost ripped my dick off. Now he is yours, have fun.”

He waved at him and walked out of the door which closed behind him.

“Jarvis?”

“Yes sir?”

“If they are going to bang, please notify me and record it, for…scientific reasons.”

“Scientific reasons, of course Sir.”

Tony got a big smile on his face as he walked back to his bar throwing back the last of his drink, “perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it   
> Please leave your thoughts down below and see you all next time


	9. Echoing the whisper of the trees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is the next chapter   
> I hope you like it and forgive me for the delay

Pepper was displeased.

The trickster had been strong as expected but in the wrong way.

The demon had a hand wrapped around and Ultron’s neck as she slowly strangled the silly little creature. She glared into the mirror as she watched Tony or rather Thor ruining her fun.

The creature gasped and cried as it struggled but the mistress of hell didn’t care.

“He was supposed to kill the boy, not scratch him, what went wrong?”

Another Ultron, feeding on some unidentifiable meat looked up.

“Maybe he was still in control my lady. He is an angel it would be weird if it was easy to mess with his head.”

Pepper huffed and threw the now dead Ultron at its brother. She stood and took a deep breath, “alright this is a minor setback and I thought this might happen. I just need to explain it to our lord.”

The demoness walked out of the room as the Ultrons that had been hiding feast on their dead kin.

Tony slowly sipped his coffee.

The tower was quiet and he was rather amused.

The demon watched how Thor lay sprawled out on the bed while Loki was curled up like a cat in the small space between Thor’s arm and chest.

They did make a cute couple he really had to admit that.

He took another sip before he pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. For scientific reasons of course.

He chuckled before he loudly cleared his throat, “you guys wake up already.” Thor’s head snapped up, it was weird that an angel was sleeping in the first place but Loki only groaned and curled up tighter.

Tony chuckled a bit at that but stayed quiet. Thor sat up and looked at the other angel, gently putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Loki?” he shook him a bit, “Loki please tell me how you feel.”

“As if some douchebag tried to fry me alive.”

Thor winced and Tony laughed. He walked over and held out his cup of coffee. Loki slowly sat up and grabbed it to take a long sip. He sighed and glared at Tony.

“Leave.”

The demon shook his head, “oh no, this is my house so I get to witness all the drama, it is my birth right.” He went back to lean against the wall to watch the two deities.

Thor stood and looked at Loki, “Loki, please tell me what happened to you.” The trickster finished the coffee and put the cup down on the nightstand.

“Why the hell am I naked?”

Tony pointed at Thor who blushed.

“I just wanted to make you sleep more comfortable.”

Loki stood and with a flick of his wrist he was dressed.

“You pervert.”

“I am not a pervert.”

“Yes you are Thor.”

“No I am not, Tony watched that makes him the pervert.”

“No it doesn’t, it only makes him a dick.”

Tony was laughing like a madman, well demon, as the two fought like an old couple. They were so cute.

Thor sighed and looked at Loki, “anyway, what were you thinking Loki? Why did you attack young Peter? You wanted to kill him.”

Loki frowned, “no I didn’t I…I wasn’t myself. Someone messed with my head and made me do it, I didn’t enjoy it, it wasn’t fun.”

Thor exchanged a look with Tony, they were really concerned by that. Loki had always been powerful and ever since he had lived among the humans his power had grown.

“Who could be able to mess with an angel like that?”

Tony exhaled, “I think it was Pepper.”

The trickster looked at him, “that redheaded demon chick? I think I saw her, yes.” Tony looked at him, “sadly she isn’t only a demon chick. She is damn good demon chick.”

Thor looked at Tony, “she is the reason you fell am I right.” Tony shrugged and walked to the door, “I just happened to hang out with the wrong crowd.”

The angels looked at each other and followed Tony outside. The demon went to the kitchen and poured himself another cup of coffee.

The air hung heavy between them until Tony sighed, “can you pick up the kid? We should have meeting with Fury.” Loki nodded, “I will do it, gives me a chance to apologize.”

Before either of them could tell him that this was probably a bad idea he was already gone.

Peter just got ready for school and put his lunch into his backpack before he went to the front door.

“I might be back late dad, just call me if I need to come home earlier.”

His father yelled his answer and Peter opened the door, freezing when he saw the trickster standing there.

“Hello mortal.”

Peter tried to shut the door and scream but when his father poked his head into the hallway he just sighed and closed the door, Peter was nowhere to be seen.

Loki had never been human and even though he had lived among them almost since their beginning, he had a hard time understanding them sometimes.

He however did understand that Peter was scared out of his mind at this moment.

They were on top of a skyscraper and Loki was balancing on the fence that kept people from jumping to their deaths. Peter was pressed against the door that would normally lead into the building.

It was locked of course.

“Please sir, I don’t know why you are after me. I am not mad because you stabbed me, things like that happen to me a lot so no big deal.”

Loki chuckled and did a backflip off the fence. He turned to Peter, “what a weird thing to say, but okay.”

He smiled at him.

“I am not here to kill you Peter, I am here to apologize to you.”

The boy nodded, watching him warily.

“A weird demon lady messed up my brain, in truth I am one of the…better guys, I used to be an angel.”

Peter swallowed, “used to? Can you quit being an angel?”

Loki laughed, he liked the kid, “no not really but I stepped away from my duties and pissed off the head angel.” The boy nodded, “okay but why did you kidnap me just now?”

Loki looked at him confused, “well because I wanted to apologize of course.” Peter nodded, “oh well uh…no apology needed.” He wondered when things like this stopped being weird to him.

Loki seemed to know what he was thinking and smiled at him.

“I am glad you understand, I really didn’t mean any harm, that woman just really wanted you dead.”

Peter sighed, “yes I am getting that feeling too.”

Loki walked up to him and Peter tried to appear more confident than he actually was. It all flew out of the window as he badly flinched when Loki put his hands on his shoulders.

“I will help you from now on.”

Peter blinked, “oh thank you…so you are my guardian angel now?” Loki snorted, “there is no such thing as a guardian angel Peter, if there was don’t you think there would be less gladiator fights?”

Peter frowned, “I don’t think they are a thing nowadays.”

Loki laughed and patted his head, “you are a funny human, now I will look out for you and make sure you are getting a bit of a head start in life. I could make your girlfriend have sex with you.”

Peter blushed and shook his head, “no, no, nooo Loki we need to have a talk about boundaries and personal space.”

The trickster looked a bit confused by that.

Fury was tapping his foot on the floor impatiently.

His arms were crossed in front of his chest and he huffed every thirty minutes.

Thor was happily devouring the cookies that were on the table and Tony was playing with his phone. They purposefully ignored the angry one eyed man and it only infuriated him more.

Just as Fury hit the table with the flat of his hands getting ready to yell at Tony the flap of wings sounded and Peter stood in the room, Loki behind him.

The trickster wore a big smile and Peter seemed glad to see other people around. Tony put his phone away and stood, “hello Peter, take a seat, I was almost worried Loki turned you into a frog.”

Loki smirked, “I didn’t do that for almost a millennia.” Peter sat down staring at Tony, “he can do that?”

“He does,” Thor piped up and wiped his hands on a napkin.

“Now if you were all so friendly as to shut the fuck up, so we can begin with this meeting I would be delighted.”

Tony and Loki took their seats but Peter seemed to be the only one feeling bad at being disruptive.

Fury cleared his throat and stood, looking at them with a piercing look. It was worrying how he managed that with only one eye.

“Well everyone except Mr Parker is aware why we are here and what is about to happen to all of us.”

The man began to pace and they all watched him move, more or less annoyed. Peter swallowed he was a bit excited that he was finally confined in why he was fighting for Tony.

Fury looked at Peter, “well Mr Parker, to put things simple, the gates of hell are about to open up and the apocalypse is about to start.”

Peter blinked before looking at the others but no one laughed or seemed confused. He looked back at Fury, “oh…that is bad, right?”

Tony looked at Peter, “the gates of hell are locked for a reason, if only half of what is inside gets to the surface, we are all doomed.”

Thor nodded, “yes, the angels are ready to fight but the battle will be bloody and in the end, no matter which side wins, humanity will lose.”

Peter sighed, that didn’t sound good. He didn’t want to lose his family. Fury watched their exchange and nodded along.

“We want to prevent this from happening, there are things for all of us at stake. The problem is none of us is from this world and has to follow rules that do not apply to you Peter. You are the knight that has to fight for us.”

Tony looked at Peter, “I didn’t think you would get so deeply involved into that, honestly I thought you would long be dead by now, but this work is really cut out for you and you seem to…have different destiny than all the others.”

Peter didn’t want to know how many others there were so he stayed silent. Loki looked at Peter, “the demon who messed with my head wants to open the gates to let the army of hell loose on the earth. That is why she is trying to stop you.”

The teen sighed and ran a hand through his hair. This all sounded so unbelievable but still he had little trouble believing it was true. He just wondered if it was his destiny to fight and die or to prevail.

Tony put a heavy hand on his shoulder, “you will safe us all Peter, I am sure of it. You are strong and resourceful and most importantly, you have a kind and good heart. That is more than any of us has.”

Thor smiled at Peter, “he is right, you are a truly good person and I am impressed by your strength.” Peter wasn’t used to so much of honest praise.

Loki rolled his eyes, “stop kissing his ass everyone, the end is near and even if he is our best chance, he has no idea how to help us, if the demon bitch really frees the headmaster of evil even he will struggle and you all know that.”

Fury nodded, “yes, that is why we will not let it get that far. The gates are still locked and Pepper has only found a few keys and I am sure we can keep some of them safe from her.”

Peter looked at Fury, “where are those keys?” Tony looked at Peter, “they are not keys in the literal sense Peter, more in a metaphorical way. Like one key is the blood of a virgin spilled on the roots of a hundred year old oak.”

Peter frowned, “that is weirdly specific.”

The demon shrugged so Peter turned back to Fury.

“How many keys are there?”

“99 keys exactly.”

“How many has Pepper gathered already?”

“About 87.”

Peter gaped at the man but everyone seemed completely cool with that. Maybe everyone was just crazy.

Thor looked at Peter, “don’t worry son, she cannot open the gates until she has the very last key and even if she has 98 keys as long as we keep one of them safe she cannot achieve her ultimate goal.”

Peter nodded but it still seemed rather concerning to him.

He rubbed his neck, “so we are going to keep a few of the keys safe? What keys are that?” Fury smiled at him, “now we are talking.”

He pointed at Tony, “he is one key, a demon living among the humans striving to destroy his hellish chains. Pepper will need to spill his blood on the gates of hell to open them.”

Peter nodded and Tony gave him a wink.

“Thor also holds a key, his sword is a gift from the creator wielded by a being of purity. As long as he keeps a hold on it we are good.”

The one eyed man turned to Loki, “I hate to say it even he is a key. An angel fallen but still with grace. She also needs his blood.”

Loki chuckled, “funny, she might already collected that, I mean she messed with my head and almost had me kill Peter.”

Fury let out an angry shout, “why did no one tell me this?! That is an important information.” The man took a deep breath and calmed himself, “alright it is fine, we still have the others.”

Peter spoke up, “do I also hold a key?”

Fury blinked, “you? Oh no you are not a key you are our key, that is something different. We need you to fight monsters and that stuff. You are important but not like that.”

For some reason Peter felt really insulted by that.

“I see…”

Tony raised an eyebrow at him, “Peter, believe me this is a good thing, you don’t want to be a key of hell. It is a rather bothersome burden.”

Peter nodded and stood. He pushed his chair in and looked at all of them giving them a small, polite smile.

“I know, please excuse me I need to go home and get some homework done.”

He turned and left the office.

The building was quiet and he just stood in front of the elevator doors, waiting for them to open up. For some reason he felt kind of sad and annoyed.

Not that he wanted to but he couldn’t help it for some reason.

The doors opened and he stepped inside without paying much attention to it.

He hit the button for the ground floor and waited.

Someone cleared their throat behind him.

He flinched and spun around only to see the smiling, redheaded woman from his nightmares.

Pepper smirked and held her palm open, blowing some weird dust into Peter’s face. The boy coughed and stumbled backwards, hitting the elevator door with his back before slowly sliding down as he passed out.

The demoness smirked and as the elevator finally arrived on the ground floor it was empty.

When Peter woke the air was so dry it made him cough. His eyes and his entire body felt heavy so it was hard to open them to look around.

He frowned as he saw his surroundings.

The ceiling was so high he couldn’t see it at all and he lay on a flat and cold surface, he guessed stone that made his back hurt.

The room was lit with torches and quite honestly it looked like the set of an old cliché horror movie where the virgin was getting sacrificed.

He coughed again and swallowed a few times before he was able to call out.

“Hello? Is someone there? Please I am lost and if that is the case I am to be returned to Tony Stark.”

He heard some movement in front of him but gasped in horror when he saw who there was. Someone who appeared to be female, rose from the floor. Her skin was yellow and kind of waxen but parts of it were open in angry wounds, that were bleeding and oozing disgusting liquid.

Peter let out a scream but he was still unable to move. The creature crawled up the table he was lying on and Peter felt his skin burning where the liquid of her wounds dripped on him.

Suddenly the woman was grabbed and pulled off him by Pepper. She threw her to the ground and stomped on her, audibly crushing her skull.

Peter winced and felt himself getting sick. He gagged a little but thankfully didn’t throw up.

The redhead turned to him and smiled brightly.

“I am very sorry my little knight, but you know, a human in hell is a really nice treat for so many of us.”

Peter stared at her with wide eyes.

“I-I am in hell?”

She nodded and walked up to him, wiping away the wet spots the zombie lady had left.

“Indeed you are human, I brought you here to turn you against your friends and make you my puppet.”

Her honesty caught Peter really off guard and he just gaped at the woman.

“My name is Pepper by the way, I am Tony’s ex-girlfriend he may have mentioned me.”

Peter was still dumbfounded and staring so he was only able to shake his head.

Pepper laughed and it sounded as if she was the sweetest Person in the whole wide world. He was terrified by it.

“Oh that fool he barely told you anything right?”

She went to him and bowed down so her face was directly above Peter’s. He could see her white but sharp teeth and weirdly enough her breath smelled like pumpkin spice.

“I made him fall, I was his demise and I will be yours.”

She took his face into her hands and kissed him. Normally Peter would have been only embarrassed to be kissed by a cougar but in this situation, it was terrifying and yes she tasted like Starbucks.

Peter tried to prevent it but she managed to force his jaw open and push her tongue into his mouth. He didn’t know what it was and honestly he didn’t want to think about it but something slid down his throat and when it reached his stomach it felt heavy and cold in there.

Pepper pulled back and Peter gasped for air.

She smiled at him, “I told you, didn’t I? You are a knight, for and against hell.”

The demoness stood up straight and suddenly the force that had pushed Peter down was gone and he was able to sit up. The teen grabbed his throat and stared at the woman with still wide eyes.

“What did you do to me?”

His voice was loud and quite shrill.

Pepper chuckled as she walked to a heavy steel door. She turned and put a hand on the handle, “you will know soon enough little puppy and just a little tip, don’t be too loud or the others might hear you.”

She winked and walked through the door, letting it fall closed behind her.

Peter stared at it and as he heard another moan from the darkness he pulled his knees to his chest, heaving a little as he tried to comprehend what had happened to him just now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are nearing the climax sadly not Peter's but it will come eventually 
> 
> I really hope you liked this one, till next time

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me what you think, leave a comment or Kudos, it would make my day.


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